


Say You Won't Let Go

by Literary_Spirit



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Kennett Week, Supernatural romance, kennett
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-04-20 14:02:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 123,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14262561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Literary_Spirit/pseuds/Literary_Spirit
Summary: After two years, Bonnie Bennett is over all things Originals, Hybrids, and Vampires. So while the Scooby gang decides to rub elbows with the who's who at the Original Witch's ball, Bonnie opts to drink and dance the night away at a Rave revival at the edge of town. Who would've thought a chance encounter with a certain Original Bad Boy could throw fate so far off her game? Kennett





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AN: After hearing James Arthur beautiful lyrics, I thought it would be fun to recapture the theme of the song in a Kol and Bonnie fanfic. They've always been one of my favorite pairings and since there is not nearly enough fics about them floating around out there, I wanted to add my contribution to the Kennett vault. So please be gentle. It's my first time, you know!
> 
> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me, but I plan to play with them anyway.

Kol Mikaelson's gums throbbed to release his fangs. The familiar burn of eternal hunger assaulted the back of his throat. He ached to tear into something soft and bursting with life. For what was sweeter than prey who believed to be on the cusp of greatness? Nothing compared to the coppery taste of hopes and dreams. He couldn't count how many mistresses he'd drained over the centuries. What could he say? Their hopes and dreams for an infinite future with him often became too tempting to resist.

His poor, social climbing, beauties. For a short time, he'd elevated them from the gutter, but eventually returned them there as a final resting places of sorts. It was a vicious cycle really. He'd done it so much in London, they'd taken to calling him the Whitechapel Butcher. Best month of his life until Nik showed up with a dagger in hand. He'd spent a decade in the box that time. All because he dared to 'live' out loud.

Niklaus could be quite the prig when no one was looking. More so than Elijah, who spent more time with his tailor than the great loves he was always on about. It was quite sad when predators donned costumes and pretended to be prey. Here it was a century later and his brothers still masqueraded as sheep. Pathetic! It was no wonder he'd went along with Beka's inane plan to kill her date. Restlessness has always driven him to be more…creative. Once, he'd even compelled Nik's favorite painter to cut off his ear in an attempt to break up the monotony. Boredom and hunger were two things he refused to abide. Immortality was just way too long to sit in silence and stare at a wall. He'd rather kill time in a box.

The scorching in his throat, pulled him from his musings. If Kol didn't find sustenance soon, he'd set a random house on fire and grab the first human to run outside. His need to drain—in the very least—half of Mystic Falls' meager population could be equated to the thirst of a newborn vampire's. After being locked in a box for over one hundred years, control could be a slippery bitch. Even for an Original vampire.

Desiccation for any period of time had a way of reestablishing control issues he'd all but mastered in his first century of vampirism. Yet, that was neither here nor there. He could feed himself into a stupor and still not feel a twinge over the blood spilled to sate his hunger. His insatiable need to gorge himself on Mystic Falls' finest had more to do with rage than control or desiccation. The urge to disfigure and maim could only be attributed to the overbearing shrew he had the misfortune of calling mother.

Ester was back among the living, with all of hell (and Finn) nipping at her heels; all while claiming, she wanted nothing more than to heal their family. Well how fucking rich! When not even twenty minutes before he'd witnessed Ester's tongue become a razor blade. The singular purpose? Slashing him a new one of course. And why pray tell, would an allegedly loving mother want to mentally injure her youngest son? Over a human. Rebekah's human, no less! For it was no secret, his darling baby sister collected inferior lovers the same way spinsters collected cats.

No matter, mommy dearest still proceeded to castrate him through verbal means. Spouting phrases like: Why can't you be more like Finn and Elijah, or nonsense such as: Why even Niklaus managed to tame his savage nature for the duration of the evening, his favorite, however, was: those beasts that wail at the full moon each month show more restraint than you, my depraved child? And on it went until his ears bled from her cutting remarks and biting criticisms, all while Nik looked on with brows that nearly disappeared into his hairline and a smirk which most certainly assured: You're an idiot, Kol.

The memory elicited a low growl. Kol's fingers curled in to tight fists in the pockets of his tuxedo jacket. Saliva pooled in his mouth. The scorching at the back his throat intensified. Burning deprivation gnawed on his rib cage. Tonight Ester would be responsible for the slaughter of dozens. Preferably witches. Blonde witches with sharp tongues. He could almost taste… His nose twitched. Cheap perfume and bottom shelf Vodka assaulted his nostrils. Two distinct heartbeats collided with his ears. A slow grin pushed at the corners of Kol's mouth. The hunt was on. He picked up his pace, walking only slightly faster than the average human. Not long after, a couple of young harlots came into view not even two miles ahead.

A frown wrinkled his forehead, as he watched them stagger their way across Old Hickory Bridge towards a warehouse at the edge of town. They chortled like hyenas, while rubbish spewed from their lips as they went. He scoffed. Honestly, it made no sense. Why were they making this easy for him? Wenches of this time obviously had no real awareness of self-preservation. The drunken pair before him, clearly spurned life and courted death. For such an offense, they deserved to reap the consequences of their folly. To think, vampires were referred to as abominations. Daft humans were the true affront against nature. Tonight he planned to restore the balance by ripping into their foolish necks. Besides, Elijah said, overpopulation had become a problem. He would be doing a global service.

Kol's thrill for the hunt may have been dampened by the idiotic humans bellowing about rude boys from the bottoms of their lungs, but unfortunately his thirst had not. The hollow within still demanded to be filled and though they weren't witches, their lifeblood was as good as any. Even if his senses warned of there being more Vodka coursing through their vessels than blood. No matter, a stiff drink would take the edge off.

At vampire speed he raced ahead, stopping within arm's reach of the barely standing duo. Before he could drag his spoils into the nearby forest, a decadently delectable fragrance forced its way up his nose, and then slowly crawled down the back of his throat. His nostrils flared, while his tongue smacked the roof of his mouth. Witch blood. Such a scent should've turned him rabid. A trail of bloodless corpses should've been left in his wake as he pursued the origins of that bewitching attar. Instead it tempered the breathtaking blood lust that had plagued him for over a millennium.

No better than a baited fish on a hook, he allowed the soothing essence to reel him towards the entrance of the warehouse. All the while ignoring the outraged hisses of the trollops as he ruthlessly pushed his way pass their rocking frames. At the entryway of the establishment a rather large human of the male persuasion attempted to place a hand on Kol's person. In the glint of an eye he snapped the wrist of the offending appendage.

With dilated pupils, Kol glared at the hulking mass towering over him. "Go take a dive off of Old Hickory Bridge, Mate." The man nodded, before turning towards the door. Not quite done with him yet, Kol stepped in his path as a smirk firmly twisted his lips. "And if you know how to swim, forget you do."

The scent he'd first caught hint of outside, thickened. It coated his tongue in a brazen invitation. Cunningly pilfering his attention yet again. Even as string instruments and drums clashed together in an unfortunate merger, and multiple soiled bodies wreathed together to release odors nothing short of impressively foul, that one enchanting fragrance still beseeched and beguiled him to find its source. The golden glow from the bar however, rendered the haunt unnecessary. For their, perched on a stool among the beer guzzlers and tequila shooters, the queen of sirens sat sipping a thimble of what smelt to be scotch and soda. Deep crimson fabric caressed her hills, dips, and curves from shoulders to mid-thigh. Bloody hell! Was that supposed to be a gown? The chit was nearly naked. A hundred years ago the dress would've gotten her arrested. Not to mention, fucked, bitten, and drained. He had to have her.

Warmth blossomed in the pit of Kol's gut and radiated throughout his body. Wisps of energy slithered over him in a probing fashion. For a moment he tolerated the invasion until the mystical force attempted to enter his mind. The steel door slammed closed on his thoughts. If her magic took even a peep at the inner workings of his psyche it would perceive him as a threat. A predator, born and bred from the depths of hell and it wouldn't be wrong. He was vile and there was no getting around that fact.

Still not done with its investigation, her sorcery penetrated every pore on the surface of his skin and lit him up, giving light to every darkened cell in his body. Elements, which lay dormant in him for over a thousand years sparked to life and pulsed through his vessels. Something felt off…or maybe something felt right? Either way he had no desire to reflect upon the eccentricity of it all. No, all of his desire belonged to the glowing goddess at the bar. The attraction to be near her overwhelmed and ordered his steps until he stood almost half a meter too close to her. And even though he had an extensive vocabulary, superior really. Every single dastardly word he'd ever learned over the course of his very long existence, escaped him. Niklaus was right. His was a bloody idiot.

* * *

 

 Bonnie sat at the bar content to mind her own business and get, Caroline and Elena, wasted. For one night she didn't want to hear, a fucking thing, about Original Vampires, doppelgangers, hybrids, nor the blood which needed to be used to successfully transition a werewolf into a hybrid. For all intents and purposes she wanted to be left the hell alone. If the Salvatore's even thought about showing their faces at that Rave, she would stake both of their asses on general principle. Elena would just have to learn how to survive without her favorite boy toys.

"What can I get ya, Sweet Cakes?" A bartender asked as he leaned into her from across the bar.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at the name, and then took in the man's clean cut appearance, muddy brown aura, and skin crawling vibe. Dude was creepier than a bucket of snakes and she was far from interested, but as long as he knew how to pour liquor into a glass he and she would get along just fine.

"Bourbon, rocky," she said, casting a glance over the warehouse. On conclusion of her assessment, she wrinkled her nose over the findings. The place lacked talent. Shit she should've worn a t-shirt and jeans, instead of Caroline's uncomfortable—freak something—dress.

"Sorry, honey," he said, giving her a crooked grin, which silently conveyed his lack of remorse. "There's only beer and Tequila for the kiddies. So what's your poison?"

She nodded her head towards the shelf behind him. "I'll take whatever is in that bottle up there."

"The Macallan." The bartender snorted.

Bonnie lifted an eyebrow. Her stare unflinching.

His eyes bugged at her audacity. "That's a twenty-five year old single malt scotch. Trust me. Your parent's pennies aren't that pretty."

"It's fine," she said, producing the credit card her dad gave her for emergencies.

With a smirk the bartender shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "It'll be a hundred and seventy five dollars."

Bonnie's eyes nearly crossed. "Oh no you're mistaken. I don't want the bottle."

"For a glass, Sweet Cakes."

"Good, a steal," she forced through a stiff lip smile, refusing to back down even though she knew her pride was setting her up for a serious tumble. "Charge the card under miscellaneous items, please." Reluctantly, she slid the card across the counter.

After the barkeeper charged her credit, he used a dirty towel to wipe out a shot glass, and then splashed a swallow of scotch in the tiny tumbler. "Enjoy." Instead of moving on to the teens down the way, who were practically climbing on the make shift counter to get his attention, he focused on her until the clinging of glass breaking drew his gaze back to the sloppy drunk teenage girls. "Damn it, Samantha and Krysta. Take a walk before I call security." He then, folded his arms across his chest and continued to watch her.

She clenched her back teeth together to restrain herself from uttering the words that would set his disrespectful ass on fire. For the amount she'd paid for the scotch, he should've been kissing her feet, but no. Instead he chose to stare at her as if he expected her to strip down, climb on the bar and shake it fast. The nerve! Did she look like Diamond from the Playa's Club to him? She is Bonnie Freaking Bennett.

The same Bonnie Bennett who dropped a certain hybrid to his knees. It was her mercy Klaus pleaded for as he rolled and twitched in the dirt. Not Damon nor Stefan and damn sure not Sweet Cakes! Pissed beyond belief, her magic rushed from her center shot down her arms to pool in her hands. More than ready to spark a bitch. Those problems however, were not the ones she wanted. So in the spirit of a bullshit free night, she needed to get her issues together. Quick!

Without weighing actions against consequences, Bonnie snatched the shot glass from the bar and downed the contents to calm her dissecting nerves. Wrong damn answer. Scotch had one hell of a bite. Not only did it snatch open every sinus in her face, but it lit a blaze down the back of her throat, which bottomed out in the pit of her stomach. Seriously, she would be shitting flames for weeks.

The bartender threw his head back and howled almost louder than the music coming from the DJ's speakers. Once his cackles partially subsided, he splashed a little more scotch in the glass. He ignored all Bonnie's gestures to stop him. "No worries. This one's on the house." Snickering, he squirted two skeets of club soda in the drink. "How about sipping this one, Sweet Cakes?" That parting shot, he tossed over his shoulder as he swaggered down the bar to wait on his other costumers.

Bonnie hurled, Satan inspired, glares at the bartender's back even as she took his advice and slowly sipped her scotch. After several minutes of licking the scattered wounds on her pride, she relaxed and concentrated on getting her drink on. She wanted to hit the dance floor and she needed liquid courage to do so. Not that she was a bad dancer, but she wanted to lose her inhibitions and see where the evening took her. Maybe she'd meet a Daniel Gillies look alike and get her back blown out or maybe she'd end up on her bathroom floor worshiping the porcelain goddess, while crying a river over unresolved daddy issues. Who knew? The night was young. It could go either way.

As she picked up the glass to take another sip her steady hands gave way to a tremble as her heart rate began to imitate the rapidly flapping wings of a humming bird. A light sting of heat upon her cheek, provoked her magic to slowly seep from the minute openings on her body and radiate over the surface of her skin. Normally, when her powers responded like this, it meant Klaus was in the building. Yet, this time somehow felt different. Even though her powers were at the forefront ready to be commanded, her magic didn't feel threatened. In fact, the surge of energy almost felt a bit flirtatious. If that made any sense.

Aware of the major paranormal disturbance invading her personal space, Bonnie cut a dirty look at the gaze, which fastened itself to her cheek and caused so much upheaval in her magic. She heard a sharp intake of air as hot chocolate brown irises took possession of her eyes and refused to let go. For a full minute or maybe two, they stared at each other without the benefit of words, until she tore her gaze away to take in his aura. A beautiful vibrant turquoise wafted away from him to tentatively mingle with her golden life force.

Bonnie regarded their auras for a moment, not missing the thin thread of scarlet, which announced his vampirism. Normally, if the thread was that fine it could mean one of two things. Either the vampire was newly turned or ridiculously ancient. Judging by the hue of his primary color, he'd been a witch before becoming the undead. A powerful one too. Since she didn't see him maintaining such a level of brilliance to his primary life force, she'd bet dollars to air he'd recently died. Her vision blurred. For some insane reason the thought of him departing from nature swamped her in grief. The hell? It must be the alcohol.

She opened and closed her eyes to blink away the tears, before dragging her gaze back to his. "May I help you?"

* * *

 

 Well what should he say to that? Why yes, my darling. Come away with me to partake in some vigorous sex and blood play. Damn it, Kol! Just bloody compel the chit and get on with your eternity. A voice, which sounded suspiciously like Nik's, whispered from a dark tawdry corner of his debauched mind. If that was indeed a possibility don't you think we'd be halfway back to the mansion by now? She's a witch you blithering idiot. Was his mental reply.

"Can I help you?" She asked again with a little more forcefulness as she held him hostage with those impossibly green irises.

"You can if you allow me to procure you a drink," he answered, finally finding his words.

"Um…" She held up a tiny glass filled with barely a swallow of scotch. "All set, thanks anyway. So if you don't-,"

"Why, that's hardly enough to imbue a thimble," he said as he sat on the stool next to hers. "Here, allow me." Kol held out the metal black card Nik had given him earlier that morning. "How about opening an account for me, Mate?" With a tilt of the head Kol gestured towards the bottle of scotch. "Begin by adding the Macallan to the check." Dismissing the barkeep, his gaze drifted back to the delectable witch at his side.

Her mystical eyes slid over him, slow and precise in their appraisal. Upon conclusion a smirk corrupted her enticing mouth. "Which is it? Wedding or funeral?"

"Am I to pretend, I know what you're on about, my darling?" He asked unable to stop himself from leaning even further into her.

"One, don't call me, my darling, it's condescending. Two, personal space is a right not a privilege. And three, this is a pop up rave at the edge of town, in a warehouse of all places. Black tie is not required."

Amusement hitched the corner of his mouth as he watched the tiny siren who could easily be mistaken for a queen. "One," Kol began. The witch stiffened. He raised a hand to put her at ease, and then resumed. "The phrase was not utilized for a tool of condescension. In fact, there was a period in time when it was nothing more than a term of endearment spoken between lovers and friends."

"Term of endearment?" The enchantress smirked, while folding her arms beneath her small but perfectly rounded bosom. "Lovers and friends. Well we're getting ahead of ourselves aren't we?"

Oh darling. They were nowhere near as far as he wanted them to be. If left to him they would be at one of his properties in Monte Carlo. She would be naked as strips of crimson fabric littered the floor of his bedroom. Their coupling would have her gasping for air as she worked assiduously to keep up with each of his thrusts. The witch's eyes narrowed as if she had a peep hole into his mind.

Kol pressed his lips together to suppress a grin. "Two, I apologize for encroaching any boundaries you have erected, but I fear it is only in your personal space I can truly breathe."

The witch snorted. "Well it's a good thing you don't need oxygen to survive."

The minx. This time Kol did grin, while obsessing over the alluring glint in emerald jade toned irises. "Three," he reluctantly broke eye contact to glance around the warehouse. "What's a Rave?"

If his question surprised her, it didn't reflect upon her face. She just merely shrugged, before finishing off the last bit of scotch in her tiny glass. "It's like a party, where people get together to either dance, drink, trip, or roll. In some people cases…," she nodded her head in the direction of the dance floor. Kol arched a mocking brow. The harlots who were almost his late night snack, were in the middle of the designated dance area making a bloody spectacle of themselves. "All of the above. Most cities don't have them anymore, but being this is Mystic Falls and the only other club is an hour and a half outside of town, a Rave revival was in order."

"Ah, like the bordellos of Paris," Kol said, remembering one of the few taboo decadences of the Victorian era. Vicki was no fun after she ascended to the throne. She became quite long winded, actually. On again and again, about duty and propriety. Her son however… "Bertie," he snorted, at the memories. "What a riot. I tell you, he was the best of that lot. Almost turned him twice."

"In what way does this Rave remind you of a whore house in Paris?" When he opened his mouth to answer, she covered his lips with the palm of her hand. "You know what? I'm not touching that one."

No longer able to continue demonstrating restraint, he pressed a kiss in the center of her hand. She snatched the appendage away as if she'd been burned.

"Well you would've had to have been there, Love." He smiled, warmed by a sense of triumph. He affected her, but then again, how could he not?

She grabbed one of the tumblers the barkeep brought over with the bottle of scotch. Then she waited as Kol poured the bronzed liquid in the glass.

"If we're gonna share a two thousand dollar bottle of scotch, this should probably be the time we exchange names."

"Of course, Enchanting One," Kol sat the bottle down to give her his undivided consideration. "I'm…" His name dissolved on his tongue before it could dare cross his lips. Rebekah's voice floated to the forefront of his mind: Everyone in this town despises our family because of Nik. That doppelganger wench of his, even went as far as to stab me in the back. Quite literally, Brother. No, no, no! It simply wouldn't do for this bewitching siren to hate him over his familial ties. "Leopold." He lied with all the ease of truth.

The temptress blinked. "Leo- who?"

"Leopold, but I have no objections to being called Leo," He said, magnanimously. "Now it's your turn. Please, tell me the name of the woman who has stopped my world from spinning."

Disbelief marred her exquisite features. "Beyoncé," she said, her tone flat.

"Ah, why that's a lovely name. Is it French?"

"I have no idea," she said, before taking another sip for her glass.

He opened his mouth to say more, but when a songstress began wailing and wondering, if it was bad to never have made love even though she was an exceptionally adequate lay, Beyoncé yelled that was her song and snatched the Macallan from the bar and beckoned for him to follow her to the designated dance area. Kol did so without a word of complaint.

* * *

 

 Normally, when a vampire touched Bonnie, an icy chill slid through her veins, her skin prickled and slithered over her body in the most repulsive way, which led to the bubble guts, only to conclude with visions so horrendous they could earn the Texas Chainsaw Massacre a G-rating in comparison. The funny thing is though, when Leo slid his hands over her hips to guide her on the dance floor, the complete opposite happened.

Instead of an icy chill, warmth resonated throughout her body. The icky rumbling, which signaled for her to make a mad dash to the restroom, didn't assault her stomach, however a delicious tightening in her lower abdomen did. Almost making her feel as if she was a few thigh rubs away from a major blow out. And the visions! Well don't even get her started on the visions. They were still triple X rated, but for a whole other set of reasons. Just thinking about the promise her visions made about them, provoked her to take a swig from the bottle as she began to slow grind to the beat of Wale's, 'Bad'. She squeezed her eyes shut as she withstood the deliberate burn sliding down the back of her throat. After a few glasses of the liquid heat, Bonnie had begun to discover there was more bark than actual bite to the twenty-five year old liquor.

"Are you planning to share, Lovely?" Leo asked as he pumped into her ass to the beat of the song.

Surprisingly, as far as melanin challenged boys went, he had a keen understanding of rhythm. Maybe he should teach a class and invite the Salvatore brothers to attend, Bonnie mused as she passed him the bottle. After the Macallan was in his possession, she leaned forward and shook her ass at him, before dropping it, and then bringing it back up again. Slinging her hips from side to side, she bounced around to face him. The look of shock and need going pound for pound on his face, had her fingers itching for the camera on her phone. And don't think she missed the hint of fang peeping from beneath his top lip, either. Usually, if a vampire tried her by flashing fang, she would've turned their ass into bonfire, but not with him. No, the sight of his brought out the kink in her. Blame on her visions or the alcohol. She definitely was feeling a way.

Leo slid his arm around her waist, and tugged her to him. On their own accord her arms wound themselves around his neck. Damn she was tipsy. She didn't know him from the bartender. And yeah he said his name was Leo-something, but that clearly was a lie. It wouldn't have taken him so long to answer if Leo was truly his name. So with no reliable information forthcoming from him, the only data she had to go on was context clues. Which were: A British accent that had, no doubt, done irrevocable damage to the crotch of her panties. An old worldly vibe, which reminded her of the Tudors. He seemed relaxed in his own skin, so there went her newborn vampire assumption. Last but the most important clue of all, the three thousand dollar Armani tuxedo that appeared to have been custom made to hug every hard plain and edge of all that body. Wasn't the Original Witch's ball that night?

Before she could add one plus one together and step back with two, someone bumped her from behind. The expression on Leo's face darkened as he glared over her shoulder. She angled herself to see what had pissed him off.

"Bon!" A brunette girl named Krysta from school yelled over the music. "Oh my god. Can't believe you finally came," she said, tugging her away from Leo to give her a hug, but Bonnie had the sneaking suspicion Krysta was actually using her to hold herself up.

"Bon." A tall strawberry blonde came to a stop right next to them. "See Krysta. Told you it was Bon-Bon. We spotted you at the other end of the bar. Is Dullena and Freak-a-zoid Forbes here too?" she asked, glancing around the dance floor.

"Now, Samantha-"

"Look, Krysta," Samantha said, cutting her, the hell, off. "It's the jerk who almost ran us down in the parking lot. Where exactly was the fire, Jackass?"

"There wasn't even a line," Krysta sniffed.

"Leo?" Bonnie questioned, feigning sympathy. She really didn't put too much thought into Samantha and Krysta's claims. They'd spent almost all of their high school experience in a drunken and drug induced haze.

"My apologies, ladies," Leo said in a low voice that seethed with a, 'don't fuck with me' vibe.

"Fuck off with your apologies, Doctor Who." Samantha snapped. "If you really wanna apologize. Nothing says sorry like bottle service."

"Samantha," Bonnie cried, not at all surprised by Sam's candor. She could be petty and vindictive when the mood struck. And when the hell did the Warehouse get bottle service? They didn't even have waitresses.

Krysta shook a tiny baggy of pills in her face. "We got party favors, Bon."

"You know…I think we're good for now Krys." Bonnie declined as she watched Samantha snake the scotch from Leo, and then turn the bottle up like she was guzzling down water.

After she finished she passed the bottle to Krysta, before leveling Leo with a glare. "Now about that bottle service."

"Sam-," Bonnie began.

"It's fine, lovely." He cupped Bonnie's cheek in his hand, while gazing down into her face. "I have an open account. They can order whatever they like."

"Apology accepted," Samantha said clapping her hands together.

Krysta handed the Macallan back to Bonnie with a dubious smirk perched on her glossy mouth. "Later, Bon." She licked her lips as her gaze moved over Leo, before flicking back to hers. "He's hot. I'd so play with his anaconda if I were you."

"You're such a whore, Krysta." Samantha grinned. "You'd fuck every last one of the Wiggles if the opportunity presented itself."

"So what?" Krysta said as they stumbled away. "They're hot too."

Bonnie shook her head as she watched the girls go. How in the hell did those two make it in a town like Mystic falls without getting their throats ripped out? She took another swig from the bottle, the burn had taken a tangy turn. Good, maybe she was finally building a tolerance to the scotch.

"Those two are a public hazard," Leo said as he took the bottle from her. She watched as he took a generous sip. "Something ought to really be done about them."

Bonnie snorted. "Please, Sam and Krys will be around even after cockroaches have seized to exist."

When Rhianna's, 'Diamonds' blasted from the speakers Samantha and Krysta's drunk asses were all but forgotten. Leo wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled until her back collided with his chest. Using the rhythm as a guide, she began to grind her ass against his front. Not even a second later, she hit wood or to be more accurate wood hit her. She loved the way his skin felt as it slid over hers. It sparked a kaleidoscope of sensations in places that weren't usually stimulated. Which only served to remind her of all the firsts she'd allowed to slide to the bottom of her priority list.

Since Mystic Falls was now the supernatural place to be, there was no time. For anything. Not cheerleading, boys, waxing, or anything else that wasn't Elena related. Having the original hybrid as an enemy was a full time job. Klaus stayed plotting. Every day was something new with him. Hell, it made her wonder where he found the time. Between breaking curses, siring hybrids, harvesting doppelgänger blood, you'd think he'd be tired. She knew he wanted to rule the world, but damn. Even God took a day off and he created the damn thing. Leave it to Klaus to try and one up God. His cockiness knew no bounds.

"Smile, lovely," Leo whispered, placing the bottle to her lips. "I plan to let you have your way with me." As she took a generous swallow, he nuzzled the skin behind her ear and murmured. "Again and again and again…"

"Stop that." She giggled despite everything she stood for. "This will go no further than what's happening right now." Her gaze cut over her shoulder to find his. "So if you're counting on this night ending in some sloppy hook up, then you better ask about me. I'm not the one you want for your undead life, Leo. Trust, because I'm telling you what god loves."

"My apologies, I never meant to imply I was searching for anything more than a tupping. I prefer my relations without relationships. It's bloodier that way, darling."

"What?" Did she hear him right? She whirled around to face him.

"Honestly, is there no sense for humor to be found in this era?" Leo's engaging mouth stretched into an unrepentant grin. "Lovely, you must know I jest. I would never make a mess of you." Relief dropped her shoulders. She allowed him to pull her closer and angle his mouth next her ear. "You're too delectable not to be savored." The breathy whisper, provoked her entire frame to tremble harder than a detoxing alcoholic.

As Bonnie's, double-crossing, body became a victim of Leo's seductive vampire nature, her mind reeled. What the hell was wrong with her? Even as the thought grazed her brain, she clung to the vamp in question. Obsessively pressing every soft piece of her to every hard inch of him, making sure nothing could get between them, not even air. For the first time since she sensed her pride, her will disbanded from her needs and formed an unholy alliance with her wants. Those two working together would be her undoing. Just look at Elena. No good could ever come from over indulging one's wants.

"You really should stop fighting this," Leo chided. "You want me. Why deny yourself?" His tone dripped with genuine curiosity instead of arrogance.

Bonnie tugged the bottle from his loose grip and guzzled down the rest of the scotch. When some of the amber liquid dribbled from the corner of her mouth, Leo wiped away the excess with his thumb. Her eyes damn near rolled from their sockets as she watched him run a darting pink tongue over the pad of the digit. After, something wild and feral glinted his pupils, which in turn stoked the heat of his gaze to blaze even hotter. The intensity of his stare reminded her of a predator biding its time in a cage. Bonnie swallowed as she gathered her diverging thoughts.

"W-what makes you think I want you?" She asked, while wrapping her arms around him to bring him closer.

Leo tapped the side of his nose. "Vampire senses, my darling. And dare I say, your arousal is mouthwatering." She huffed, it was really the only thing she could muster up in the ways of outrage. Between the, lip grazing, murmurs and the slow grinding, he was decimating her control and making a mess of her restraint. Even a middle age woman with no sex drive would be leaking from her bloomers by now. "Oh, don't be cross with me, love. My desire for you is more than apparent." He pressed the length of his wood into the mound nestled at the tops of her thighs in case she missed his meaning. "Don't you think it only fair I know the gist of yours?"

"Gist?" She asked as she inhaled him, and committed his scent to memory. "Please, my desire for you is nonexistent. Truth is…you bore me. If you've seen one vampire, then you've learned to adjust your expectations. Anyway, they're not exactly rare here. Try walking over Old Hickory Bridge without tripping over one."

"You're a bit of shrew aren't you?" He clucked his disapproval. "You sort of remind me of my mother in that way."

"Gee thanks." Her arms slackened around his neck. Whatever moment they shared, chucked up deuces and slipped away.

Leo didn't seem to notice. "My attraction to you is rather disturbing when you think about it. I can't abide her, yet I find you irresistible. Hmm, my brother's human may have been right in his assumptions. You see he came up with a theory. Called it the Oedipus compl-,"

"Shut up," she cut him off.

"Excuse me?" A frown wrinkled his forehead like he'd misheard her.

She ignored his stupid question, because they both knew he heard her. "Look, all I wanna do is dance, get drunk, and maybe fool around. If you can't handle that then I'll find someone who can."

She spun on her heel to walk away, but before she took a step Leo grabbed her wrist in a loose grip. "Whatever you want. All you need do is ask and you shall have it, Beyoncé."

A smile crept across her face, and quickly retreated when Carly Rae Jepsen's, 'Call Me Maybe' began to blast from the strategically placed speakers. "Agh! Forget it!"

Bonnie turned once again to stomp away, and this time Leo used his vamp speed to block her path back to the bar. Her first mind was to drive him to his knees by blasting his brain stem, but the shine that gleamed in his eyes as he stared at the speakers with his mouth hanging open, pressed pause on any plans of retaliation.

"Where are you going?"

"The bar." She attempted to step around him. "I hate this song. They play it way too much."

"What? This song is brilliant." He grabbed her hand. "Dance with me. Please?"

Bonnie studied his expression a moment longer, before a sigh dropped her shoulders. She just didn't have it in her to say no. Not while he was looking at her as if she was the goddess of his religion. Feeling like the martyr she was apparently destined to be, she allowed Leo to pull her to the center of the dance floor.

* * *

 

 Kol watched Beyoncé transform. She no longer had the calculated seductive movements of a siren. No, now she mesmerized in the way only a woodland nymph could. The way she gyrated her body in graceful wild abandon, enraptured him. All pretenses and inhibitions on her part were shed. Vanilla, coconuts and a hint of roses, saturated the air and coated his tongue. Her scent had imprinted itself on his senses. A thousand years from now he would still remember the smell of her skin. He'd be able to recall how her glow warmed him better than the sun. Recollect how it lit him up and slayed his darkness, effortlessly.

As the evening marched purposefully towards dawn, events after a certain point that night became a bit obscured. Which was strange when reflected upon. Being a thousand year old vampire afforded Kol certain advantages. Clarity being among them, but as time progressed faces blurred, sound waves appeared, and the only thing he wanted to do was cling to Beyoncé, dance, and guzzle down gallons of water. All in that order. All at the same time. The thought crossed his mind to feed, but when the two dimwits known as Samantha and Krysta positioned themselves on both sides of Beyoncé and began to dance, all while screaming bunny sandwich, it distracted him from taking a temporary leave.

After three songs, he was able to extract Beyoncé from the unholy trinity she found herself a part of, only to be drawn over to the mate responsible for the music, and having her demand he 'do the thing with his eyes' that would make the conductor play their song. Kol had no idea to what song she referred, but since she enquired he relented and attempted to compel the man into 'playing their song'. The conductor, however, must've been a witch or worse a werewolf, because instead of compliance he told him—and he quoted—to 'fuck off and take his drunk bitch' with him. After that slight, bedlam descended upon the warehouse. For in a turn of a phrase, Kol found his hand wrapped snugly around the disrespectful sods neck. He was unsure how it got there, but he decided to go with it and proceeded to snatch the witch/wolf over the booth, and then sling him across the dance floor.

While this transpired, Beyoncé replaced the conductor in the booth and isolated fisticuffs broke out all over the establishment to the treasured sound of, 'Call Me Maybe'. In the midst of all the mayhem, he witnessed Samantha wheeling what appeared to be a metal ale barrel out of the warehouse, followed by a staggering Krysta who carried a bottle of brown liquor in each hand. He should do Mystic Falls a kindness, and just exterminate them. The change of music and the small hand on his back drew his attention from Mystic Fall's pest problem.

Kol turned. Beyoncé surprised him by pressing her body against his, and wrapping her arms around his neck. Slowly, her soft curves began to move against him to the sounds of a sultry female vocalist pleading they do the unthinkable. So he did just that. Right there amongst the screams, fighting, and injured bodies littering the dance floor he pressed his lips to hers. The precise moment her mouth began to move tentatively against his, something shifted inside of him on a fundamental level. He could barely discern it, but he knew there had been a change. How could he not when he'd lingered in the same frozen existence for over a thousand years?

From then on, Kol's lips only left Beyoncé's to allow her the occasional gasps of air. For the remainder of the evening their tongues tangled, teeth clashed, as blended moans attempted to escape the seal of their joined lips. Even as they left the Rave and fell into a vehicle called an Uber, the kiss willed out. On the way to her home, she straddled him in the constricted confines of the vehicle's back seat. With her fingers threaded in his hair, she peppered kisses on his face and neck when she wasn't using her thrusting tongue to plunder his more than willing mouth.

By the time the Uber deposited them in front of a nondescript house in an unremarkable neighborhood, he arrived at the conclusion that she'd forever ruined him. The only other time he'd ever felt such a way was when Ester and Mikael cursed him and his siblings to walk the earth as monsters and he'd lost his connection to nature and magic. Now here he stood on the precipice once again lost in the embrace of the tiny witch who held the blueprint for his destruction in the palms of her dainty hands. After clutching her in his arms, and discovering the sweet taste that was her mouth and skin, the eternity he'd existed in before would never again be enough. Not without her.

Beyoncé broke their kiss to unlock her door, when it swung open she stepped across the threshold. She stared at him with wide unblinking eyes from behind an invisible barrier he would never be able to penetrate without two words uttered from her. For one desperate moment he feared she wouldn't extend an invitation, but then she said…

"Go home." His heart plummeted, until her laughter filled his ears. "Nah, I'm just playing. Please, come in."

Soon as she breathed those magical words in to existence, the invisible barrier fell. Before he stepped in, he had the unfamiliar urge to play the gentlemen. "You should get some rest. It's almost dawn," he said casting a glance at the pinking sky.

"It's okay, Leo. If you're worried about the sun, I can make you a daylight-,"

He held up the hand where his daylight ring resided.

"Oh," she said, stepping forward to interlace her fingers with his. "Then there goes the only excuse I'll accept."

She tugged him inside, leading him through the foyer and up the stairs. Her scent filled the house along with a faint masculine one. He could tell whomever the scent belonged to hadn't resided there in some time. A moment later she pulled him in a room, which childish interior conflicted with the stunning seductress he'd come to know. Such a contradiction baffled him.

Kol imagined her languishing in a boudoir lined with satin walls to cushion her moans. With heavy drapes to hide away her carnal sins. A large over-stuffed bed to contain the wildness of each coupling, while covered in silk sheets for added stimulation to heighten every last one of her orgasms. Her arousal should've permeated the air as a clear invitation for any suitor fortunate enough to cross the threshold. What he didn't anticipate was this powdered pastel frilliness, more suited for either Nik's doppelganger or his newest teen-aged blond obsession. Beyoncé was a siren of the first order, and should be housed in apartments more fitting of her station.

A soft frame collided with his and he allowed himself to be knocked to the narrow bed covered in furry stuffed creatures. After pulling out a purple elephant wedged under his back, he tossed the ridiculous looking animal to the side. He then, settled in and gave his attention over to the exquisite witch perched on top of him. She was beauty personified, the undisputed masterpiece of the human race and…from the looks of it severely nauseous.

Covering her mouth with both hands, she climbed off of him and made a dash to the door next to her wardrobe. Seconds later retching, gagging noises floated to him from the room.

Leaving the bed, he followed her, at vamp speed, into the restroom. He found her on her knees vomiting into a chamber pot of sorts. A curtain of brunette tresses varying in shades from milk chocolate to mahogany brown shielded her face from view and seconds away from slipping into the porcelain bowl. Without inclination, he flashed to her side and gathered the silky strands in one hand, while rubbing soothing circles into her back with the other. For the next several minutes she purged all of the scotch she ingested the night before from her body. When she was done he grabbed a wash cloth from the cupboard. He soaked the rag in the sink, and then filled a plastic cup with water.

After handing her the items, he sat on the floor a half a step behind her. Once she cleaned her face and rinsed her mouth out she laughed.

"Bet this is ringing your bell, huh?" she rasped.

"It's not the high light of our evening, but I still would much rather be here than anywhere else," he replied, more honestly than he'd intended.

In response, she angled her head to look at him over her shoulder, and then graced him with a smile so breathtakingly stunning, it chased away the lingering effects of the scotch, and doused him in clarity. In that illuminating moment he knew beyond the shadow of reason, he loved her. In a single night she'd done what no one in nigh a millennium was able to do. She'd made him treasure the gift of eternal life, because without it he never would've come to know her. Overcome by his feelings for her, he gathered her in his arms and pulled her closer to his chest. They sat there, on the restroom floor, in silence for an indeterminate amount of time.

After a moment longer. "You should stay over," she whispered, her voice still raspy from all of the vomiting.

"I've already told you, love." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I think that you should get some rest."

"I will if you stay," she insisted. "I don't wanna be alone, Leo."

Unfounded jealousy temporarily incapacitated him. That name on her lips in that moment felt intolerably sacrilegious. He wanted stomp out of there and snatch out the heart of the first Leo he could find, and then toss the organ at her feet. Just so she'd see, no Leo's heart would ever be adequate enough to love her the way he could. But for now he'd have to keep his feelings to himself. If he revealed what was in his soul too soon, he sensed she would flee.

"Will you just stay and let me hold you for a little while?" She pleaded, slightly pulling away so she could look up at him.

He pressed a kiss to her lips before whispering, "Only if you say you won't let go."

An earnest emerald jade gaze arrested his. "I won't let go, Leo."

"Do me a kindness, little love," he murmured, as he tucked an errant wave behind her ear.

She nuzzled the palm of his hand with her cheek. "Anything, within reason."

"Call me Kol."

"Only if you call me Bonnie."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I'd like to thank everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this WIP. Every time my hot line blinged (email notifications) my muse got a little more turnt. She had me pounding out scenes in some of the weirdest locations, all so I could get this update out ASAP. And this brings us to...
> 
> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me, but I plan to play with them anyway.

_Oh my damn!_ Bonnie's gut bubbled and churned at the sight of the brown sludge in the glass. "Abby, what the hell is this?" She asked, holding the concoction as far away from her face as her arm would allow.

"The Necromancer," Abby said with a look of disapproval plastered all over her face. Her mother was still salty after running into Leo—or whatever his name was—on his way out earlier that day. "It'll help with the hangover. Does nothing for regrets, though." She finished under her breath.

Bonnie wrinkled her nose. The tonic smelt, worse than a desiccated vampire. "What's in this stuff?"

"You really wanna know?" Abby countered in a tone slightly more mocking than questioning.

"Not really, but _au la fragrance_ is not doing much to keep your secret recipe under wraps, Abby." Bonnie waved the cup under her nostrils, and then deeply regretted the decision. "Now tell the truth. Rotten eggs, manure, and toe jam are the main ingredients, right?"

Abby spun away to wipe down the kitchen counter, but Bonnie could've sworn she saw a smirk corrupting her mom's lips, before she turned. "Stop worrying about what's in the tonic, and just drink. The Necromancer will make you feel better."

"It'll probably put hair on my chest, and base in my voice too." Her field of vision narrowed as she eyed the glass.

"No, not hair," Abby said, while still giving way too much attention to the counter.

Bonnie's eyes bulged from their sockets. "Are you saying, there really are physical repercussions from drinking this stuff?" She demanded, lifting the glass for emphasis.

"Only temporary," Abby said, finally peering over her shoulder at Bonnie.

"Oh. My. God."

Abby sighed, and then whirled completely around. "And the effects are minimal."

"What the hell are minimal effects, Abby?" Bonnie asked as she deposited the glass on the counter.

"You, know. Nothing major." Abby's hands became a flurry of movement as she used the appendages to try and solidify her explanation. "Okay, your aura and body chemistry may be slightly altered, but again the effects are only temporary. You'll be good as new in twelve hours…or so." When Bonnie tooted her lip, Abby cocked a brow, while dropping her hands to her side. "It's either that or forgo using your magic for the next twenty four hours."

Bonnie's head swung from side to side. Minimal her ass! Her aura was the essence of her on the most fundamental level. Any alterations to her magical life force would be the equivalent of riding on a bicycle down a flight of stairs with a book bag full of unstable grenades. Abby knew better, but Abby also knew the criticalness of her situation.

A night of drinking, had done the fool on her magic. Bonnie had awakened in her bed alone with only eighty-five percent of her memory intact from the night before. Upon reflection she'd admit her magic swirled through her veins a bit sluggishly, but she attributed changes in her power to the hangover. Wrong damn answer! When she tried to open her curtains with a wave of a hand, instead of sliding apart with ease, the damn things burst into flames. It didn't stop there, though. Oh no, when she attempted to use her powers to suffocate the flames, she created a small twister… _in her room!_ After Abby rushed in and put an end to the tornado, of wind and madness, her respect for Frank Ocean skyrocketed off the charts.

The memory made her fingertips itch for the glass of rot on the counter. Second thoughts however, wrenched her hand away. Was her situation really worth the risk of disturbing her aura? She could go twenty four hours without using her magic, right? Wrong. Elena had already texted her earlier that morning about coming over to practice a spell she'd saw the Original witch cast at the ball. Not to mention, she had a feeling shit was about to decimate the fan on the Klaus front. The last thing she needed was to be stuck ass out minus her magic, while dealing with that deranged hybrid. With a sigh, she snatched the glass from the counter, pinched her nostrils together, and downed the funky smelling tonic, which surprisingly tasted like chocolate Yahoo.

"See, that wasn't-," A knock at the door cut Abby off. Her face scrunched as she glanced at the kitchen entrance. "People still come by your Grams after all this time?"

"It's only been a year since Grams passed, and it's probably just Caroline," Bonnie said, before walking towards the foyer.

Once at the front of the house, Bonnie positioned herself on the tips of her toes to peer out the small window on the door. A middle age blonde lady and a tall man who appeared to be in his mid to late twenties, stood on the porch staring at the door like they expected entrance. Bonnie rolled her eyes. Must be Jehovah Witnesses. A sigh dropped her shoulders before she opened the door.

"Yes?" She offered in a ways of greeting.

The blond woman turned to smile up at the man before turning back to her. "We're here to tell you about the good news, sister."

"I'm sorry," Bonnie shook her head, while raising a hand. "We're Wiccans."

She moved to close the door, but the man placed a hand on it to prevent her from doing so. In that moment, Bonnie realized she was blind in her third eye. Seriously, she couldn't see a damn thing. Not an aura, a potential outcome, she was so blind, she wouldn't even be able to tell a sprinkler system from a rainstorm. _The hell?!_ Her mind reeled. That damn Necromancer tonic. She snapped her head to the side to glare at Abby who only shrugged in return.

"Sisters," the woman cried, clasping her hands together. "I too am of the Wiccan faith. Will you permit us to enter, so we may become aquainted?"

Abby elbowed her in the side. "He's a vampire." She whispered, never taking her eyes off the man.

"Are you sure? Because I don't sense-," Her words slammed on brakes mid-sentence.

_You have got to be kidding me!_ Not only was her third eye closed, but her seventh sense had gone on the fritz too? Punished! She was being punished for almost giving the business to a vampire. Shame on everything involved.

"Who are you?" Abby demanded as she folded her arms across her chest.

The woman's eyes slightly flared in surprise. "Why I'm Esther, and this is my eldest son Finn. We mean you know harm." She glanced between Bonnie and Abby with earnest but calculating eyes. "Sisters, you have my word."

"You can come in," Bonnie said, and then nodded her head in Finn's direction, "but he'll have to wait outside. No offense, but this is a vampire free zone."

Finn's gaze found his mother's. When she gave him a nod, he backed away from the door with a curt bow of the head to Bonnie and Abby. After which, they stepped away from the entrance to allow Esther to enter. Once she stepped across the threshold, she swept passed them to cross into the living room, where she made herself at home by sitting in Grams favorite Victorian armchair.

"Now," Esther began, while fastening her hands together and resting them in her lap. "First allow me to begin by expressing my gratitude to you both. Without the two of you, the magic which bound my coffin would still remain intact."

"Humph." Bonnie grunted as the dimness of ignorance began to brighten in the brilliant light of clarity. "You're the Original Witch."

A peel of laughter left the witches mouth. Bonnie and Abby frowned at each other as they silently questioned Esther's sanity.

"Is something funny?" Abby asked with a cocked brow.

Esther shook her head as she tempered her laughter. "My apologies. You see, I find it quite ironic for you to refer to me as the Original Witch when the Bennett line proceeds my own by thousands of years." She shrugged. "I guess when you create monsters who are denoted as Original vampires, such a name is bound to cling to one like the foul stench found in an outhouse."

"Why are you here, Mrs. Mikaelson?" Bonnie asked, more than ready to snatch back the welcome mat.

"Again, I wanted to-," A small frown ruffled Esther's pleasant features as she leaned forward to sniff the air between her and Bonnie. "Ah, the Necromancer tonic. Late night was it? Finally, it's revealed." She bobbed her head as she settled back in her seat. "The explanation of why you didn't attend my ball, and I completely understand. You had a prior commitment."

"Uh, no. I didn't go to your ball because you didn't invite me," Bonnie said. Her words slow and deliberate.

"Didn't invite you?" Esther released a snort Bonnie would've never associated with her (very posh) character. "Why you and your mother's invitation should've been delivered along with Ms. Forbes. Niklaus assured me he would hand deliver the invite himself."

Bonnie just stared at the ancient witch.

Esther's gaze left hers to implore Abby's. "Well, he must've-," she broke off abruptly at the continuation of Bonnie's silence and blank stare. "Why that little shit. Not only is my child a monstrous beast, he's also quite rude."

Abby scoffed, and Bonnie sprang into action. "It was nice of you to come over and thank us but-,"

"I must confess," Esther said, speaking over Bonnie and effectively cutting her off. "Expressing my gratitude over the pardon of my confinement is not the only reason which brings to your doorstep."

"Ah, hell. Here we go." Abby muttered, shifting her weight from on foot to the other.

If Esther heard, nothing in her face let on. "I'm here to inform you both that not only am I channeling your magic, but I'm also channeling your ancestral line in its entirety, sisters."

"The hell?" Bonnie forced through clenched teeth.

Abby shook her head as her hand found her hip. "So let me get this straight. You sash-shay in my mama's house like you own the place to tell us, not to ask us, mind you. But to tell us that you're leeching our magic, and then still have the nerve to call us sisters in the same damn sentence?"

"Abby-," Bonnie started.

Abby waved Bonnie off. "Don't even, Bonnie. Respect is due to a damn dog!"

"Respectfully, If I may," Esther's critical stare moved over Abby. "I'm actually channeling your daughter's magic, you're no more than a weak link in a chain which connects me to your ancestors."

"Weak link?" Abby stepped forward, but Bonnie placed a hand on her arm to prevent her from going further. "Why don't you ask your husband about this weak link?"

"Abby, please." Bonnie muttered under breath. "Let's keep it classy. Now is not the time to get ignorant."

At this point Bonnie could barely float a feather and Abby had only just begun to regain her magic. The last thing they needed was for it to go down in the middle of her Grams living room with the Original Witch or whatever she was calling herself.

"Sisters," Esther stood, and they took a step back. "Let's not mince words. Your ancestors granted me access to your powers for the sole purpose of ending my children once and for all. It is the reason I stand before you today."

The skin between Bonnie's brows wrinkled. "Are you serious? Elijah told Elena you wanted to heal your family."

"Yes," Esther nodded. "And it's my intent to do just that by concluding their miserable existences. For it is a kindness only a mother can provide. And it's the only way to restore the balance."

Heartless bitch were the words, which flirted mercilessly with the walls of Bonnie's mind. Esther wanted to commit filicide in the name of restoring the natural order. If she looked hard enough, Bonnie was sure irony resided somewhere in the ancient witch's reasoning.

"Okay, if you're not here to ask our permission, then why are you here, Esther?" Abby snapped, all pretenses of politeness dropped. "Why not cast whatever spell it will take to kill your children and leave us out of it?"

The Original Witch's mouth flapped open and closed.

A smirk tugged at the corner of Bonnie's mouth. "She's not strong enough to will the magic of our entire line. Without direct descendants of the Bennett line, she'll never be able to harvest all of that power on her own to complete the spell. It would kill her first."

"Talking about weak links," Abby said, while lifting her chin and skewering Esther with a glare.

The ancient witch narrowed her eyes as her thin lips pressed together to form a straight line. "Sisters, you speak the truth. For I am weakened, and but a shadow of the witch I was a thousand years ago. Without your assistance I will be unable to destroy my children. So what say you? Will you help me to correct my affront against nature?"

Bonnie watched her for a moment without speaking. More than anything she wanted to see Klaus' ashes return to the dirt. Call it pride or arrogance, but she wanted the satisfaction of being the one to finally put his ass in the ground. Now here came Esther running on the field with only five minutes left in the game attempting to throw a touchdown winning pass. Where the hell was her guidance when Klaus first showed up in town?

"Where are you casting the spell?" Bonnie asked.

A genuine smile of relief transformed Esther's mouth. "On the property where one hundred witches were put to death by fire."

"Where the hell is that?" Abby snapped, giving Bonnie a look that strongly suggested she reconsider getting involved.

Bonnie ignored the look and waved for her to be quiet. "Fine," Bonnie bobbed her head. "What time would you like us there?"

"When the full moon reaches its apex," the ancient witch answered.

Abby glared at the ceiling and Bonnie could've sworn she saw her count to five before retraining a hard stare on Esther. "What the hell kind of time is that?"

"The witching hour." Esther's eyes glittered.

"Midnight," Bonnie supplied just in case Abby wasn't familiar with the term.

* * *

Finn Mikaelson stood as soon as he heard the old oak door creak open. When his mother stepped outside he ran an assessing gaze over her person to assure himself she hadn't been harmed, while in the company of the very hostile Bennett witches. It irked him to no end when the tiny slip of a witch barred him entrance into her home. As if he was too savage to control his vampire nature. He was not his depraved brother Kol nor the beastly Niklaus.

Furthermore, who was she to look down on him when she smelt like a dirty foot, pelted with rotten eggs, and then submerged in cow dung? Finn had come to the conclusion, she must be as wicked as they come. For cleanliness was next to godliness, and her repulsive stench was worse than an overused whore with a fear of soap and water.

"It was a pleasure," His mother cooed, at the frowning witches. "Sisters, I look forward to seeing you-," The prompt slamming of the door in her face halted her sentence.

"Mother, they truly are horrid women," Finn said, slipping his arm through hers, before leading them down the porch steps. "They not only snubbed your invite to the ball, but they all but placed a foot to your backside in efforts to eject you from their hovel. Are they not loyal practitioners of magic? Servants of nature? You are a sister witch, yet they treat you with contempt."

"It is fine, my dear boy." Esther gave Finn an affectionate pat on the cheek. "Right now the Bennett witches have no reason to trust me, but the youngest will once she realizes I am the answer to all her prayers. And as for them not attending my ball, you have your brother Niklaus to thank. The little savage withheld their invitations."

"Maybe, Niklaus deserves your gratitude instead of your ire. Can you imagine what might have transpired if we would've received her smelling like the bowels of hell?" Finn scoffed. "The ball would've disbanded way before that dim-witted ruffian broke Kol's neck."

"Now, now, Finn. I'm sure the comely little Bennett witch has a lovely scent when she's not guzzling down Necromancer tonic. The side effects of the concoction can be quite repugnant," Esther said, allowing Finn to guide her down the walk way to the waiting car and driver. "But it's the price you must pay when you attempt to hide the night before regrets and follies from the light of day." She tsked, before sliding into the backseat of the black Sedan.

"Are you referring to the ghastly medley you used to administer to father after his nights of whoring and drinking?" Finn asked after he joined her in the backseat.

"The very same, my blessed child," Esther confirmed with a smile.

Finn raised a mocking brow. Exactly, what type of woman was the young Bennett witch to need such a drink, and then a thought he'd suppressed after first meeting the foul smelling Bonnie Bennett, came floating back to him. "You know mother, the stench of the dead is not the only attar which clung to the wayward Ms. Bennett."

"Whatever do you mean, Finn?" The ancient witch questioned.

Finn leaned closer to her and lowered his voice in a conspiratorial whisper. "Beneath all that vileness, lay Kol's scent."

Shock stretched the Original witch's eyes and snatched her mouth wide. "My son, surely you jest?"

"I'm afraid not, mother." Finn shook his head. "It was quite distinct."

"Do you think your degenerate brother has marked her as prey?"

He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "I definitively, can't say. All I know is he did leave the mansion the night before in quite the mood. I wouldn't be surprised for him to do something so foolish as to mark a Bennett witch."

"This simply will not do." Esther's back bone became steel. "I'm far too close to have you brother unwittingly ruin my well laid plans with one of his infamous tantrums." The ancient witch fumed for a moment before cutting shrewd eyes at her eldest son. "Finn?"

"Yes, mother?"

"Will you do me a kindness, my beloved boy?"

"Anything, mother."

Esther's eyes gleamed as she smiled her approval. "Make sure Ms. Bennett arrives at the old witch's property intact."

"Of course, mother."

* * *

Niklaus Mikaelson sat in faultless silence as he tried to remember the exact shade of his beloved's eyes. Were they as blue as a perfect summer day's sky or were they a shade darker than a bouquet of Forget-Me-Nots? No, they were the exact shade of a tropical rainforest after a quiet storm. _The bloody hell?_ He glanced down at the sketch of Caroline Forbes, he'd spent the morning drawing only to find the despicable Bennett witch smirking back at him from the page.

A rage so righteous and pure in its glory narrowed his gaze and tinted his field of vision in a red haze. He used the sharp edge of his pencil to scratch and rip away the little witch's face from the page. When the lead crumbled, and the wood broke in half, he tossed the writing utensil over his shoulder. He then proceeded to snatch the page from the sketch pad and rip the thick paper into tiny little smithereens. As he peppered the pieces on the Italian marbled floor, he pretended they were her ashes. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"What the devil is wrong with you, Nik?" Rebekah demanded, coming to a halt mid-stride.

"Why nothing, dear sister. Just paying my respects to the blasted Bennett witch," Nik said, finally allowing his attention to stray to his sister. A frown wrinkled his brow as he realized she looked like a slovenly version of the night before.

Rebekah lifted a brow. "Well is she finally dead then?"

"All in due time, baby sister," he muttered to himself, while leaning forward to yank another drawing pencil from the antique Parisian coffee table. "All in due time."

_"_ _Where you think you're going, baby?"_ Kol bellowed from the bottom of his lungs as he descended the stairs. _"Hey I just met you and this-,"_

"What the bloody hell are you on about, Kol?" Rebekah gasped, when her older brother grabbed her and began to twirl her around the living room in dance. "Exactly, where have your wits travelled? Unhand me, you bloody ass!" She struggled in his iron hold.

He released her, but not before dropping a chaste peck on her forehead. "Good morning, oh sister of mine," Kol greeted with a grin, which could only be describe as absurd.

"Morning?" Rebekah scoffed as she set to righting her wrinkled ball gown. "It's midafternoon, _Kol_."

"And yet you look like the exact replica of the night before, Bekah," Kol said as he tucked a few straggly strands of hair behind her ear.

"Not an exact replica." Klaus sent his sister, several disapproving glares over his sketch pad. "There are a few T's that are no longer crossed and several I's which are smudged and glaringly undotted."

"Shut it, Nik," Rebekah snapped, whirling in his direction to settle him with a healthy amount of her ire.

He raised his eyebrows and hands in innocence, not really wanting to be drawn into Rebekah and Kol's spat. He simply wanted to be left alone to eternalize Caroline's angelic beauty.

"She does look as if she's taken quite the tumble," Kol remarked, while circling his baby sister to take in the whole of her appearance. He sniffed. "Ah is that the hint of mediocrity and father issues I smell upon your skin? Why, sister, you besmirch our good name. Your scandalous ways will ruin us all, yet. Whatever will mother do with you?"

Klaus snorted. Bekah called it. Kol was most definitely an ass, but an entertaining one just the same. Maybe he should've undaggered his baby brother sooner.

"Keep it up, Kol," Rebekah seethed through gritted teeth, "and I will reach down your throat and step back with your tongue."

"Oh come now, Becks." Kol clucked the tongue in question. "Far be it for me to be a deterrent on your journey. Your travel down the road of ill repute will certainly go unimpeded by me. You have my word, Darling Sister."

"And what of you, big brother? Which young succulent Mystic Falls' resident has fallen prey to your blood lust last eve, hmm?" Rebekah questioned, while raising a mocking brow. "Will the town's people soon be at our doors with pitch forks and burning torches?"

"Kol." Klaus straightened in his seat to level his brother with a, hell bred, glare. "If I discover, you have made a bloody mess of Mystic Falls, you will find yourself back in a box before you can utter the word daggered."

Triumph sparked from Rebekah's eyes as he went back to drawing the crooked off set Caroline's mouth. Gads, she was so lovely.

"Why do you both always think the worse of me?" Kol asked, while looking like a puppy who had been kicked…twice. "I'll have you know I didn't indulge my thirst at all. And yes I did experience lust the night before, but only in the carnal sense. For I have found my eternal mate, brother, and she is the epitome of class, style, grace, and beauty. Your Ms. Forbes couldn't hold a candle to her even if the world was pitched in perpetual darkness. And her name is…" A look of utter confusion slayed the arrogant set of Kol's jaw, slackening the hinge in no time at all.

"Yes?" Rebekah chortled. "Do tell, brother. What's this incomparable beauty's name?"

Klaus smirked. _Kol was a bloody idiot!_

Stubborn determination reset Kol's jaw to a ridged clench. "Beyoncé!"

Rebekah howled, while he lost the grip on his drawing pencil, completely ruining the full lushness of Caroline's bottom lip.

"Brother, the lies," Rebekah shook her head, putting both hands to her mouth in an attempt to suppress her laughter. "I'm sorry…I can't." she wheezed between cackles.

"I'm not lying," Kol said. His hands fisted at his sides as he impaled them both with a truly disturbing glare. "Her name's Beyoncé I tell you!"

"Nonsense, Kol," Klaus growled, growing tired of his brother's lies and idiocy. Not to mention, he was still thoroughly enraged over the ruination of Caroline's bottom lip. "Her husband is a powerful Warlock. You'd never stand a chance of getting near her."

"How would you know, Nik?" Rebekah asked as she flung herself into the nearest loveseat, merriment still glinting her eyes.

His eyebrows headed north in innocence as what felt to be a, truly wicked, smirk twisted his lips as a response to Bekah's prying question. His irreproachable stare swung back to his sketch pad.

"Beyoncé has no husband or intended," Kol spat, stalking forward to tower over them both. "The allure of her innocence is as plain as her eyes are green."

Green? Klaus' field of vision narrowed, as he watched Kol, while mentally interrogating his little admission.

"He's infatuated again, Nik," Rebekah sighed, almost feeling sorry for the chit who'd claimed her brother's consideration. "How long did you wager this one will last?"

Niklaus further narrowed his gaze as he studied his younger brother. "He appears to be truly besotted. The poor dove will be dead by the end of next week."

"No." Rebekah shook her head. "Kol's fresh out of the coffin, I bet the chit won't make it pass Friday."

"You both make quite the amusing pair. I'm afraid however, my affections are genuine this time. In fact I'm willing to put our differences aside, Nik," Kol said, holding his arms out in mock surrender. "Please, have a drink with me in celebration. Come help me toast my new found fortune."

"Not this time, baby brother." Klaus tapped his sketch pad with his pencil. "I have a drawing to finish."

Just then the front door to the mansion burst open. The unmistakable click-clack of Esther's Louboutin's marching across the foyer prompted Rebekah's hasty retreat and Nik to smirk at Kol. He settled back in his seat, sure Esther would pick up where she left off the night before with his baby brother. When she entered the sitting room, her cold blue eyes flicked to him. _Damn!_

"Niklaus, might I have a word about the young Bennett witch?" The ancient witch snapped.

"You were saying, brother?" Kol smirked.

"My apologies, mother." Klaus rose from his seat. "Kol and I were just leaving."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay so what did you think? Are you still feeling the WIP or will I go the way of all the other great one hit wonders? Slide in the comments and tell me what you think. And as always: Favorite this, Follow this, but above all else Review this!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Here goes another one! Thanks again for the reviews, favorites, and follows. My muse doesn't know what to do with herself.
> 
> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me, but I plan to play with them anyway!

"Then, Klaus' ass hat of a brother goes and crushes Matt's hand," Caroline babbled as she not so tactfully sniffed Bonnie between pauses. "And don't you just know Damon had to make-," The blond broke off mid-sentence. "I'm sorry, honey. I can't."

Bonnie perked up a little on the bar stool. She side-eyed Caroline as she absentmindedly spun the salt shaker with her magic. "Can't what?"

"Why the hell do you smell like a sewer?" Caroline's nose wrinkled, while leaning forward to inspect her best friend's clothing. "I mean, you like you've showered. Sure your clothes are little rumpled, but the fact they smell mountain fresh proves they're clean."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, another damn side effect Abby failed to tell her about. "It's the Necromancer," she grumbled.

"The what?" The smooth skin between the blonde's perfectly arched brows gave way to three wrinkles.

"The Necromancer." Bonnie was going to kill Abby. "It' a hangover tonic."

"Why in the world would _you_ need a hangover tonic?" Caroline's frown deepened, and then her eyes flared. "Bonnie Bennett, what did you do last night?"

Bonnie tugged the hood to her hoodie over her head, and then allowed her body to slouch down even further until her chin rested on her forearms. The frames of her Ray-Bans slipped down her nose. She used her index finger to push the bridge of the shades back in place. What was she thinking when she agreed to meet Caroline at the Grill to pick up a late lunch before going to Elena's? She looked like an uncalled for, mess. And why the hell did she let Elena talk her into coming over to practice a spell in the first place? She could barely sense her magic. Her day was riddled with even more bad decisions than her previous night.

"Bonnie, don't you dare ignore me," Caroline snapped, effectively forcing Bonnie out of her own head.

A sigh, sank her even deeper into herself. "I'm not ignoring you, Care. It's just not a big deal, okay?"

"What's not a big deal, Bon?" The blonde persisted. Her voice became tainted with worry. "Did you get into your dad's Cognac again? Oh honey, you spent another night drinking and sobbing under his desk, didn't you? Just tell me Celine Dion and Mary J. Blige wasn't involved this time."

A flash of anger pooled heat in Bonnie's cheeks. "Are you serious right now? You and Elena promised never to bring that up again." One moment of weakness and her best friends were ready to introduce her to Betty Ford and Zoloft.

"Sweetie, I'm not judging you." Caroline rested a palm between her shoulder blades. "If I'd just found out Tyler cheated on me with a ghost, there's no telling what I would've done to let it burn."

"Look, Care. Let's just…not," she said. The last thing she wanted to be reminded of was the humiliation she'd suffered at the whims of Elena's baby brother. "If you must know, I went to the Rave revival last night."

"Without me?" Caroline cried. "Be-etch!"

Bonnie's lips puckered into a small smile as her shoulder rose and dropped in a shrug. "Since Klaus was too busy with the ball to focus on his plans of world domination, I thought I'd step out and shake my rain maker. You know the saying, sleep when the baby does."

"Oh my god, Bons." The blonde laughed and clapped her hands. "What'd you wear?" A frown blighted her classical features. "Not that I hope. Please, tell me this is not some, 'Walking Dead,' version of the strut of shame. _Because_ , I'll so drain your ass if you even think of saying you wore…" Caroline waved a hand at her latest assassination attempt on fashion.

"Stop." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I wore your dark red freak um dress." Her lips loosened to twist into a smirk. "I'm not gonna lie, Care. I got—girls gone wild: college edition—wasted!"

"Was it lit? Did you see anyone from school there or better yet, any, sex worthy, guys from Whitmore?" Caroline's, nasty girl, grin doubled in size.

Bonnie's sat the salt shaker upright as she tried to piece together the night's before events. "Well I did see Samantha and Krysta there."

"Whores," The blonde vampire hissed.

The corners of Bonnie's mouth twitched, before heading south. "And now that I think about it, I think Krysta might've molly-wopped me."

"She didn't," Caroline whispered, while shaking her head.

"It's the only reason that make sense of why I brought a random vampire back to my house, and invited him in," Bonnie added, so Care would get a detailed picture of all her crazy.

"You didn't." Caroline covered her mouth with her hands.

"I even offered to make him a day light ring, girl." This time the blonde only stared with her mouth hanging so wide her chin almost bumped the counter. "Now you know I was on some different shit."

Caroline's gaze fell to Bonnie's neck. "Did he attack you?"

"No, but I wanted him too." She admitted. "And you know I don't play those type of games."

The blonde vampire's face folded in contrived disapproval. "Bon."

Bonnie shook her head, still unable to believe her actions the night before. She actually begged him to stay. Her…Bonnie Bennett, pleaded with a vampire to stay. Hell had most definitely frosted over, while confirmed sinners drank ice water by the gallons.

Bonnie's fingers drifted to her neck to stroke her carotid. "His fangs weren't the only thing I wanted buried in me, Care." Soon as the words crept from her lips, shock slapped her dumb. The hell? Did she really just confess to wanting to be took down by a vampire?

"Bonnie Bennett!" Caroline slapped her on the arm. "Are you saying you popped the top on the cookie jar for some rando vamp?"

"No, I went all, Reagan Macneil, on him before I could."

Caroline's confusion gave birth to a frown.

"The chick who projectile vomited pea soup from, 'The Exorcist'."

"Oh." Care's eyes flared when understanding struck, and then her face crumpled when understanding also supplied a mental picture. "Ewe. Definitely, not a good look, sweetie."

"Agreed, but surprisingly he played the gentleman." A small smile settled on her lips. "He even held my hair back, while I threw up my insides. It was really kinda sweet." She still could feel the pressure of his touch as he massaged tiny circles into the small of her back.

"Was he hot?"

Caroline's question slammed her back to reality.

"Smoking," she answered. "He kinda looked like Daniel Gillies."

"Whoa-," Caroline stopped her version of, 'The Breakfast Club's,' interview mid-question to suck in a lot of air she didn't need. "Damn! Here comes Klaus and his psycho little brother."

Bonnie didn't even have time to summon her magic before Klaus was damn near on top of them.

"Caroline, you look absolutely fetching today, love. Witch, you should try harder." The deep edge of Klaus' voice grated on Bonnie's nerves. "If you're interested, Caroline, we can take a drive up to the lake and have quite the picnic."

Picnic? Bonnie snorted. Klaus was so pathetic when it came to her best friend. If she could weaponize Caroline, she'd already have the hybrid in the ground by now.

"Do you find something amusing, witch?" Klaus growled, crowding so close, she could actually feel the warmth of his breath on her neck.

Bonnie refused to turn around. If she didn't feed his special brand of crazy, then it wouldn't grow.

"Ah, so you've taken to ignoring me now. It's not surprising, really." Klaus continued to goad. "It takes a passable upbringing for an inferior such as yourself to understand how to address their betters. Pity you have no adequate parental role models, for I feel it's high time you knew your place, witch."

Okay, since he clearly begged to be set on fire, Bonnie would be more than happy to oblige. She spun around on the stool. For as weak as her magic was, she could still feel it sizzling just beneath the surface of her skin ready to go hard until it eventually fizzled out. "What the hell did you just say to me?"

Klaus preened under the weight of her wrath, before he tentatively sniffed the air between him and her. His expression scrunched. "Does the stench that's presently polluting the air belong to you, little witch?"

"Leave her alone, Klaus," Caroline snapped.

"Caroline, please," he cajoled with wide eyes and hands raised in innocence. "I merely would like to know what the bloody hell the Bennett Witch did to make an enemy of soap and water. Do you not smell her, love?"

"Why not catch me outside, Klaus," Bonnie bestowed upon him the coldest smile she could muster. "You can get some fresh air and I can set your ass on fire. That way everyone gets what they want." She readjusted her glasses, when they attempted to slip down the bridge of her nose again.

"Why pray tell are you wearing shades inside this establishment?" Klaus' brows rose as a mocking smirk corrupted his ridiculously red lips. "Caroline's beauty may shine brighter than the blazing sun, but are sunglasses indeed necessary, little witch? And what the bloody hell is in that carpetbag you're always hauling from place to place?"

"You really wanna know?" Bonnie asked.

A superior eyebrow arched in response, as Klaus continued to stare, while still standing way too close.

"Okay, tell me what shade of red lipstick you're wearing and I'll not only show you what's in my bag, but I'll give you a demonstration, too."

The hybrids lips puckered into a little cherry ball as his eyes narrowed to blue slits of lights. He stepped closer almost violating the open space between her parted legs. "You think to toy with me, Witch? To entertain yourself at my expense? Am I a sport to be triumphed by you, now?"

"Winner takes all, asshole," she said summoning what little magic she could access. "I'm not resting until I return your old ass ashes back to the dirt. And no one's gonna save you this time, because if they should try," her gaze flicked to the psycho brother Care had told her about, and her mental train jumped the damn tracks. It couldn't be.

"Yes, witch," Klaus said. His voice hoarse and raspy, like he hadn't drunk water or blood in days. The Adam's apple in his neck bobbed as he swallowed repeatedly. "Finish your thought… _please_." The last word grudgingly slipped from his lips through shame clenched teeth.

"Nik, why are you quarreling with this little urchin? Her scent is profoundly offensive. Come, let's go to the other end of the bar, preferably not down wind of her, and have that drink."

That voice slung Bonnie's brain out of order, making her unfit to continue waging verbal warfare against Klaus. It _was_ him! Memories from the night before blasted her like icy water from a fireman's hose. He was hotter than she remembered. Just look at all of that body. She shook her head. His sexy ass would even look good in Hammer pants.

"Leo," she whispered, snatching the glasses from her face to get a better look at him.

Recognition chased away the disgust that rumpled his face. "Beyoncé? What happened to you, little love? Were you cursed?"

"Beyoncé?" Caroline questioned with an arched brow and knowing smirk.

" _She_ , is your Beyoncé?" Klaus asked, while his gaze swung from Leo then to her.

"I'm fine. No one cursed me," Bonnie answered, zoning out Caroline and Klaus. "Okay maybe Abby cursed me a little."

"Who is this Abby?" Leo's expression darkened.

"Um, calm down. Abby's my mom and she only wanted to help," she said, having a hell of a time tearing her gaze away at the same time finding it almost too hard to look right at him… _baby_. _Damn it!_ Did she just quote, Call Me Maybe?

"Help? Look at you," he said, pushing the hood from her head. "Your aura is all wrong. It's more bronze than gold. And what are you wearing? This attire doesn't suit you, my darling."

"I'm wearing clothes, and how the hell would you know what suits me?" she snapped, trying her best not to feel a way about his initial reaction to her. "You barely know me."

"My apologies, Lovely. It's not my intent to offend, but over the course of an evening I've come to know every, hill, valley, peak and dip of your spectacular body." He laughed as sneaky fingers freed her hair from the confines of its elastic band. "Your curves should be showcased and celebrated, not hidden away by apparel more fitting for an adolescent boy."

She slapped his hands away. "I'm not the type to dress hoochified all the time, Leo."

"Hey," Caroline interjected.

She shot her friend an apologetic glance. "No offense, Care."

"Offense taken, Bennett." The blonde huffed.

"Bennett?" Leo questioned. A doubtful gaze swung from her to Klaus.

"Look, Leo-,"

A low growl vibrated his chest. Excitement twisted her gut instead of fear. "I've already told you, little love. Call me Kol, please."

"Kol, unhand the Bennett witch." The rage that seeped from Klaus' tone tore Bonnie's stare away from the younger vampire to regard the hybrid. "I will not have you coming into my _home_ smelling of her."

Bonnie angled herself around to glare at Klaus full on. "Why don't you go outside and play fetch in traffic. Why are you even with him, Kol? Is he compelling you?" Because she knew like hell this couldn't be the psycho brother Caroline kept going on about.

The mocking smirk crept back over Klaus' features. "There are many times when I wish for nothing more than the ability to compel my baby brother, but if horses were wishes then beggars would ride, witch."

"How poetic, Niklaus," Kol snapped. "Now, if only you could be daggered."

"Horses and wishes, baby brother," Klaus said, while cutting an assessing gaze at Bonnie.

"You're an Original." Bonnie shook her head as her face fell into her hands. The very thought refused to compute.

"Clever girl this one." Klaus took a step back, and then clasped his hands behind his back. "She hardly misses a thing, except of course when she's missing everything."

"He's the psycho who crushed Matt's hand," Caroline added as she returned Kol's glare. "I knew Rebekah was up to something when she invited Matt. That's the only reason I attended your mother's stupid ball in the first place. To make sure my friend made it out in one piece."

"And how'd that work out for him, love?" Kol asked, his eyes narrowed into slits, while a nasty grin warped his beautiful lips. "The whole, 'him being in one piece' thing?"

"Kol," Bonnie snapped, feeling confused as hell about the Original vampire in front of her. Shit, maybe she should've called him Leo, because in that moment she didn't recognize Kol Mikaelson at all.

"See, Bon. He's a monster." Caroline speared Klaus with an, 'eat shit and drop dead' glare. "They _all_ are."

Kol's palm found her cheek. "We should have a conversation." He gave Caroline a pointed glare. "A private conversation."

Before she could respond a waitress walked up and handed them their order. "Yeah we should, but not now. I'm late for a thing." When his gaze fell to the floor, something deep within twisted. "Look, I'll find you later, okay? You're right. A conversation is definitely in order."

His head bobbed in a slight nod, while offering her a small smile. She returned his nod before following Caroline to the door. She felt like a complete shit, because she knew what his mother had planned. There would be no later for him, or any of the original siblings. An iron grip clenched her deep and held firm. Before she exited the Grill her gaze fell to Klaus who watched her with guarded eyes and an unreadable expression. This would be the last time she'd see him. The idea should've had her two-stepping out of there, but it somehow left her cold. In fact, the thought of never seeing the hybrid again made her feel… _sad?_

* * *

"So you had no idea the vampire you took back to your house was Klaus' bother?" Elena asked, as she passed Bonnie another lit stick of sage.

Bonnie stared at Elena for several seconds giving her a chance to take back the stupid question. When Elena continued to watch her expectantly she sighed.

"Elena, do you really think Bonnie would've invited that psycho in if she knew he was Klaus' brother?" Caroline marched back into the room with the sole purpose of duh shaming the brunette.

"You act like Mystic Falls is crawling with random vampires, Care." Elena perched on the side of the bed. "There's either the Salvatores or the Originals. Since Damon and Stefan were both at the ball, well that would leave…" She shrugged.

"That means nothing. All of the Originals were at the ball too. And let's not forget the fifty-eleven tomb vampires who escaped a couple of years ago," Caroline argued, walking further into the room to flop down on the bed.

Elena rolled her eyes. "You mean the same tomb vampires the Founders Council burned alive?"

"Whatever-," Caroline began.

"She has a point, Care," Bonnie said, dumping the still smoking sage in the ashtray. "If I wouldn't have been torn the hell down, I would've known Kol was an Original from the moment he gave me that corny ass name."

Caroline leaned forward and patted her knee. "I'm sorry, sweetie. You deserve to meet a nice hot guy who'll cherish you." She side-eyed Elena before turning back to Bonnie. "And not cheat on you with a damn ghost."

"Jeremy feels horrible about that, Care." Elena committed visual homicide on the blonde vampire with a scowl. She always became defensive when someone mentioned her brother's cheating.

"Stop it you two." Bonnie began massaging her temples with her fingertips. "That happened months ago. Jeremy and I are in an okay place now. Elena, I hope you know I don't blame you for your brother's fuck ups. He's old enough to be responsible for his own mistakes."

"I know, Bon. I'm just so damn ashamed he hurt you like that." Elena shook her head as she pulled one of her stuff animals into her arms. "What was he thinking? Being disloyal to you. I swear I don't know where he gets such a flawed trait."

Bonnie and Caroline gave each other knowing glances. Elena was queen of changing hearts and she kept the Salvatore brothers up at night wondering who she'd choose next.

Elena glanced at Caroline. "Guess the Sage is a bust, huh?"

"Heard every single word." Caroline curled up on her side at the foot of the bed. "After tonight, it'll hardly matter. It's gonna feel amazing waking up in an Original free world tomorrow morning. Things can finally get back to normal, or as normal as things can be in Mystic Falls."

"Yeah, I guess. But I can't help feeling bad Elijah's gonna get caught up in this mess. I mean, he did come up with a way to save my life when Klaus tried to sacrifice me to break…"

Bonnie tuned Elena out. If Elijah was the only causality of the Original Witch's spell, then it would make her decision much easier. She couldn't stand his ass, and she'd happily standby and watch his body drop. Too bad that wasn't the case, because now her thoughts spun right out of her head. Leo, no…Kol. Kol was an Original. Despite what her best friends thought of him, she'd be damn if she let his lunatic mother put him in the ground. Even if it meant saving Klaus in the process.

She slid from Elena's bed and stuffed her feet in her sneakers. After snatching her oversized purse from the night stand she headed for the door. "Sorry guys, there's something I need to do."

"You okay, Bon," Elena questioned, her worried gaze ricocheting from her to Caroline and back.

"I'm good. I'll text you later," She assured before rushing from the room and racing down the flight of stairs.

Once outside she dug in her bag for her car keys.

"Ms. Bennett."

Bonnie's heart wedged itself in her throat. Esther's oldest son Finn stepped in front of her, effectively cutting off the path to her car.

"Finn, right?" She asked, glancing around in hopes of seeing a nosy neighbor, a curious delivery guy, or hell, even a lost in time milk man. Murphy's Law was a bitch, though. The late afternoon streets were abandoned, save her and a very sketchy Original vampire.

He nodded in response to her question, while a constipated expression locked the muscles in his face. It almost looked like he was holding his breath. _The, got damned, necromancer tonic!_

She bristled. "Why are you here?"

"Mother wanted me to assure you arrived at the old witch's property unharmed." He stepped forward and she could've sworn his eye began to water.

"That's not necessary. Let your mother know I have a few errands to run and I'll be there as soon as I'm done." Bonnie moved to step around him.

"My apologies, Ms. Bennett. Our situation has become dire and leaving you unattended while my siblings wander freely places you and your mother in jeopardy."

Bonnie opened her mouth to respond, but inhaled a lung full of shadowy dust instead. Instantaneously, black spots dotted her eyesight until her vision eventually tunneled. She forced her rapidly deteriorating sight to Finn.

"You motherfuck…,"

Her words were lost to the swirls of blackness which systematically pinched away her consciousness.

* * *

Gusts of icy wind smacked Bonnie back to awareness. Her lids lifted halfway, but a stinging chill pricked her eyes until her vision blurred and she was forced to close them again. She struggled to sit up, but cool immovable bands, plastered her to an even cooler rock solid surface, making it next to impossible for her to even wiggle. And to her added discomfort and horror, she could tell she was in motion. The screeching squall pounding her ear drums and the clumsy jostling that clattered her teeth, gave her an inkling of her lop-sided situation. Finn!

A memory of the eldest Original sibling blowing black dust in her face burst her mind wide. Justified rage called to her magic and her powers roared through her vessels to match the intensity of the emotion, which beckoned it to come forth. Esther's, butt kissing, son had come for the wrong damn witch. She'd make him burn hotter than a thousand…no ten thousands suns! The fires of hell will be called cozy in comparison. By the time she finished roasting his ass, he'd be begging for the comforts of his coffin and dagger.

As she raised her hands to wield her magic, two bright blue lights came out of nowhere and a fraction of a second later, she was airborne. A few moments after that, she landed in a soft, squishy, foul-smelling mess.

"Ms. Bennett?" Finn's face loomed over hers moments later. "Are you alright? A horseless carriage appeared out of thin air and plowed right into us."

Bonnie's field of vision narrowed into slits of red as she dug in her bag until she wrapped a palm around the sports bottle buried underneath her grimoire. Once she had it in her possession a sneer curled her top lip. Tugging it free from the clutter in her purse, she popped the top and with vindictive glee she squirted the whole container of vervain water in Finn's stupid face. A shrill scream that sounded like an old school house alarm, cut through the silent night. Bonnie fisted her hand and twisted her wrist. The Original's head did a one hundred and sixty degree spin on his shoulders. The loud crack of his neck snapping brought Christmas to November.

Climbing to her feet, Bonnie unzipped her hoodie, yanked it off and dropped the light weight jacket next to Finn's crumpled frame. It had taken the brunt of the cow patty she landed in and as far as she was concerned it could burn with the Original. She lifted her hands to begin the spell which would turn her abductor into an eternal blaze, but before she could utter the incantation a car horn wreaked havoc on her focus. A pile of hay burst into flames next to the, dead until further notice, Original.

The fire chewed away the darkness to reveal she stood on the wrong side of the wooden fence that surrounded Crazy Grady Wilkes farm. A cacophony of enraged moos incited Bonnie to scramble over the splintered gate to safety. By the time her feet touched the ground, Crazy Grady's guard cow Daisy, charged the termite infested barricade head first. The raggedy enclosure shook and creaked under Daisy's fury, but held to the snotty nosed creature's dismay. When the gate refused to give, the guard cow turned and began to use her hind legs to send grass, dirt, and cow manure sailing through the rickety fence.

Bonnie glared at the animal until Finn twitched. His movement put her on red alert protocol. Taking a step back from the gate, she debated whether to run or smite. More than anything she wanted to finish what she'd started. Daisy, however, snatched the decision from her review, by darting over to the Original and initiating a one cow stampede up, and then down his back. The unmistakable snap of the breaking of Finn's spine and neck, helped Bonnie to hate Daisy's deranged ass a little less.

Deciding, it wouldn't be wise to be there when the oldest of the Mikaelson siblings reanimated, Bonnie spun on her heel to run back towards the highway. The bright blue head lights from before waited on the shoulder of the road. Samantha and Krysta were illuminated by the bright glow.

"Damn it, Krys." Samantha waved her hand at the front of the vehicle, while the other held up a black patent leather loafer. "I'm telling you it was a man not a damn deer. What kind of a deer do you know wear Gucci's?" Krysta opened her mouth to answer, but Samantha raised a hand. "And even if by chance a deer did have a vicious shoe game, do you really think any deer from Mystic Falls would be this fashion forward?" She asked raising the shoe in emphasis.

Krysta clamped her mouth closed as she rolled her eyes to glare at the cracked bumper of her Beamer. "Stupid deer! Why didn't it just get out of the way?"

"Krys, I can't with you right now." Sam shook her head, and then spun away from the tiny brunette and just as quickly whirled back to face her again. "You know this is becoming a thing," she said, while pointing an accusing finger at Krysta.

"Liar," Krysta mumbled, her attention focused on the slightly bent hood. "I've never hit a deer before. You're such a bitch."

"Once again, not a deer, Krys!" The blonde growled, slapping a hand against the hood to get the brunette's attention. "And you're a _blind_ bitch if you think it was. When was the last time you saw a deer run faster than a train on two legs?"

Krysta finally peered at Sam over her shoulder. "Maybe it was a bear. Bears run on two legs all the time you know. They can even swim."

Bonnie gaped. _Were these bitches for real?_ She'd lost two I.Q. points just witnessing their—left field—conversation. Besides, if they stood there any longer they'd all lose a hell of lot more once Finn's undead ass rejoined the living.

"Krys and Sam? Thank the goddess of randomness." She limped towards them, ignoring the throbbing in her left hip. "Please tell me you're headed back to town."

"Bon?" Krysta questioned, while staring at her through squinted eyes as if unsure on whether to trust her vision.

Samantha craned her neck to follow Krysta's gaze. When the blonde's eyes landed on Bonnie, she saw the exact moment comprehension slayed Sam's ignorance. "Bons, what the hell are you doing out here?" She glanced behind the witch at the smoky blaze burning on Crazy Grady's farm in the distance. "Thought we weren't trashing the old creeper's farm and cownapping Petty Betty until after homecoming."

"What?" Bonnie blinked.

Cownapping? Who in the _hell_ …nope. Stay focused, Bonnie B. If the not so Original Witch got her way, Kol would be ten toes up in less than, she'd give or take, four hours.

"It's Becks idea." Krys' nostrils flared, and then twitched. "She came up with it when that schizo cow attacked her last weekend. Right after it happened, she showed up at our place pissed and missing a chunk of her donk. She so slayed my vibe."

Samantha snickered.

Bonnie shook her head. It was just like Rebekah's ruthless ass to paint a target on a defenseless animals back. Well maybe not defenseless, but still! Why was she trying to save the Original siblings again? A mental backhand to the brain slid the bigger picture back into focus. Hot chocolate brown irises and an angelic smile perched on wicked lips slammed her in force mode. What in the hell was she thinking? She didn't have time to be seduced by Sam and Krys' provocative foolishness. If she didn't get her shit together a family of cold-hearted killers would soon be dead.

Krysta stepped closer to Bonnie. She then buried her face in her hair and inhaled. When she pulled away she stared her right in the eye and asked, "Bon, why do you smell like Paula Deen's crusty thong?"

"I wasn't gonna say anything, but-," Sam began.

Bonnie raised her hands to stop the madness. She was working harder than a ditch digger to keep herself from completely losing her shit on the hollow headed twosome. "Look, I need a ride to the Grill. Can somebody _please_ get me there?!"

"Geez, Bon!" Samantha stuck a finger in her ear. "Are you trying to piss off the dead? I may be blitzed outta my fucking skull, but my hearing is the business."

Krys bobbed her head. "My hearing is 20/20 too. What about you, Bon? How's your hearing, because I saw on this infomercial the other night, the first sign of hearing loss was increased speaking volume. Hearing impaired people tend to talk louder 'cause, you know," she tapped her ear, "they have a hard time hearing themselves speak. They yell kinda like you just did when you asked for a ride. But it's okay, losing your hearing is nothing to be ashamed of. Right, Sam?" The blonde only rolled her eyes in response. "You have a community out there."

For a full minute Bonnie stared at the brunette, before holding out her hand. "Give me your keys."

"Why? I'm fine," Krysta said.

"You're so not fine, you little weirdo. Extra, yes. Fine? That would be a negative." Samantha marched over to the brunette and snatched her brown tweed Burberry bag from her shoulder. She then glanced at Bonnie as she shoved a hand inside the purse. "After only a bottle and a half of Vodka, now she apparently can't drive a couple of miles without running down some poor bastard. _Her!_ The very same chick who'd shut down bar after bar in Tokyo, and then would spend the rest of the night drifting down Mt. Haruna, without leaving so much as a scratch on the whip. You should've known her then, Bon. Krys was fire in a city of ice. Now…" Resentment and aggravation mingled in Sam's hazel eyes as she tossed her the keys. "She barely smolders."

Samantha spun away to slide in the passenger seat of the BMW, while Krysta lingered for a moment before finally saying, "It was a deer." With that spoken, she stumbled to the back door on the passenger side, and then fell inside the car.

Bonnie stood there for a minute thinking about the town's youngest drunks, but before she could really reflect, Eminem's, ' _Cleaning Out My Closet_ ' blared from her bag. Shit, it was Abby's ringtone. Reaching inside her bag, she shoved around candles, herbs, and grimoires until she finally grabbed the phone. After she slammed the back door shut she limped around to the driver's seat of Krysta's car, while scanning the message.

**Abby:** _Where the hell are you and Finn? Esther's got a bug up her ass about you being in danger. Claims her youngest son has marked you. Whatever the hell that means!_

**Bonnie:** _I have no idea, but I'm fine. Can't say the same about Finn._

**Abby:** _Why? What happened to his suicidal ass?_

**Bonnie:** _Cow attack_

**Abby:** _Cow attack?!_

**Bonnie:** _No time. Will explain later. For now stall!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thanks to all who took the time out to read. So what will it be this time...Flame or Acclaim? Dive in my comments and let me know. 
> 
> As always peeps: Favor this, Follow this, but above all else Review this!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me, but I plan to play with them anyway.

"Well, well, well. Look who is back for seconds, brother." Klaus brows rose as he lifted the tumbler to conceal his smirk.

Kol turned in time to see Nik's over-cosseted obsession flounce through the doors of the pub as if she owned the bloody place. He watched her, while a mocking smile touched his lips. Niklaus had always been a bit thick when it came to unremarkable fair haired beauties similar to the tedious Caroline Forbes. There was nothing more amusing _or_ exhausting than watching his brother's efforts at wooing the object of his nonsensicality. Nik was the very definition of insanity. Always relying on the same hackneyed Shakespearean scripture to win his love only to lose the chit in the end to either he or Elijah.

When would Nik learn? Women only tolerated the hero in the light of day, alone in the dark, it was the dastardly villain they craved buried between their thighs, plundering their charms. Especially, laced up primroses like, the lovely lunatic, Aurora. While Niklaus drew ridiculous portraits of her and spouted chaste poetry until the point of desiccation, Kol would have it off with the filthy dove whenever time permitted and she was willing. Which she habitually was when she wasn't fucking her brother, Tristan. A pompous squat of a man who constantly smelt of horses and manure, and in verity, fancied himself in love with Elijah. Kol scoffed at the memory. He could hardly believe the absurdities they were subjected to before the power of compulsion revealed itself.

"Hmm, Caroline appears to be alone," Niklaus said. His eyes never straying from the approaching blonde vampire. "Didn't the little witch give her word to see you when the hour grew later?" Nik clapped a hand on his shoulder, no longer even trying to hide away the smirk, which so boldly claimed his mouth. "Fear not, Baby Brother. "I'm sure the malodourous Bennett Witch will be along shortly."

"Actually, no she won't." Caroline stopped a meter or so shy of them, before folding her arms across her unimpressive bosom. Really, what did Nik see in her? "After what you did to Matt— _our friend_ —she doesn't ever wanna see your creepy little face again."

"Rubbish." He waved the words back at her with a flick of the wrist. "My face and physique is a literal work of art, darling. I'll have you know a nude statue of me was all the rage in the 1500's. One of Nik's sniveling humans created the masterpiece. The sod actually wanted to call it David instead of Kol! Can you imagine? Nik daggered me before I could drain the daffy little toad." Kol hadn't thought about the semi-talent artist in centuries. "Nik whatever happened to Micky?"

"You mean Michel-?" The blonde vampire began only to be cut off by Nik.

"So we're back on this again, are we?" Nik's smirk blossomed into a disturbing grin. "One hundred years in a box and you still can't get over yourself can you? Well out with it then, little brother. Why not regale Caroline of your exploits from way back when."

"Well, I'm not sure _I_ would call them exploits. They were no more than distractions, really." Kol felt no need to feign modesty, but something told him to tread carefully with Nik. He had that look about him. The very same look which earned Kol a crotch filled with parasites after Nik insisted on purchasing him a whore to celebrate is fourteenth summer.

"What of your claim to worldwide recognition, brother? Will you not make the lovely Caroline dine on her words this night for such insolence?" Nik asked, while forcing his face into an innocent expression.

Kol ignored his older brother to stare his doxy directly in the eyes. "You will not get between Bonnie and me. For if you do, you'll only have yourself to fault for what I do next. To you…your insipid friends…your inconsequential boyfriend. What was his name again, Nik?"

"Kol." His name slithered from Niklaus' mouth, slow and deliberate.

"Tyler is it?"

"Are you threatening me…my friends… _Bonnie's_ friends?" Her arms shot down to her sides, hands curling into tiny fists.

"Threats? Gads, no. Passivity is not a part of my nature, darling. Even before, being turned I never issued threats. I find them ineffective. I'm going to rip out your heart and feed it to your mother." He lifted a curl from her shoulder. When she slapped his hand away he smirked. "You will die screaming, and let's not forget your favorite Nik. I will bathe in your blood. Now be honest Nik, would you really allow even a drop go to waste?"

"Careful, baby brother. It'll be my pleasure to reunite you with your dagger."

"Ah, the dagger and the coffin." He snapped his fingers with a nod of the head. "I stand corrected, that would be his favorite."

"You're an ass, and I'm not afraid of you, Psycho." Caroline stabbed her finger into his chest, emphasizing each word with a jab.

"Then you're either intriguingly reckless or scandalously uninformed. No matter what your infirmity may be know this, the very last place you want to discover yourself standing is between me and what I crave most."

"And the last place you want to find yourself is in a box for another hundred years, Kol." Klaus attempted to place himself in front of the infantile vampire, who declined the protective gesture by sidestepping him.

The daft wench refused to be cowed, her stupidity was limitless. "Bonnie Bennett is my best friend, and she deserves so much more than a bloodthirsty sociopath with anger issues and prone to temper tantrums. So if I have to tread ground zero just to block the cock, then you might as well get used to me being in your damn way…or," she flipped her hair to pointedly stare over her shoulder at the tantalizing brunette bent, so becomingly, over the billiard table, "find something else to crave. Oh and if you're talking about the statue I think you're talking about, then it won't take much to block your cock."

A cunning smirk, debased the blonde vampire's seemingly innocent features, before she whirled around and strutted away.

"Well, Baby Brother," Nik said, before draining the remaining liquor in his glass. "I do believe the exquisite Ms. Forbes has made a grave error."

"Which is?" He asked, only giving Niklaus a fraction of his consideration. The balance lingered on the scrumptious brunette wanton, who shamelessly flirted with the drunken bugger, Nik referred to as Rebekah's incompetent history teacher.

"Why, she gave her back to a predator." He slammed his tumbler on the counter. "I'll be defying the call of the wild and nature if I decline to give chase. Don't wait for me, little brother. Tonight's a full moon and I plan to make the charming Caroline howl until dawn."

"Don't worry over me, Nik." He inclined his head in a distracted nod as he continued to visually pursue his prey. "I'm feeling a little peckish. Think I'll have a late supper, while I wait for my witch."

Niklaus' eyes narrowed as he ran a speculative glare over him. "Kol, try to refrain from the usual bloodletting, when the scheming Bennett Witch doesn't show. I gave Mayor Lockwood my word, we wouldn't slaughter the locals. I'd hate to go back on that word because one of your fits slipped out of hand."

"Go away, Nik." His scrutiny finally left the whiskey seasoned morsel to regard his maddening older brother. "Bonnie barely tolerates you, and I'll not have you antagonizing her with your instigating character."

Niklaus watched him a moment longer, and then swaggered from the pub like the conquering hybrid emperor of the world, he was not. Kol descended a level and allowed his eyes to roll. Nik was an even bigger narcissistic ass than his miniature chum Bonaparte. The two had been inseparable, if not for Elijah, Klaus would've turned that tiny horse's ass. He shuddered just thinking about the sort of world he would've awaken to if those two had given it a go together.

Kol's gaze drifted back to his supper in time to see her give a meaningful look to the drunkard monopolizing her evening. Without another word the dejected son of a whore drifted back over to the bar. Soon after, the brunette's rich brown eyes sought out his only to glance away seconds later in feigned indifference. Interesting. A challenge.

He'd like nothing more than to indulge the unfolding intrigue, but the growing sting at the back of his throat insisted he not play with his food. Besides, Bonnie would be there soon, and it wouldn't do for her to find them in a compromising position, even if he were only sating his thirst and lust. So compulsion it would be. But wait…that wouldn't work either. The wench was undoubtedly on vervain. Being cozy with the local vampire hunter would in the very least afford her that advantage.

Deciding to test his theory, he strolled over to the billiards tables, snatching a stick from the rack as he approached. When his intended quarry leaned forward to sink a ball, he couldn't help admiring her tight round backside. Wistful thinking provoked him to ponder, what a tempting distraction she would've made before he inevitably fucked and drained her to death.

Alas, the lure of the enchanting Bennett Witch, had reeled him away from such diversions. His barely beating heart and insatiable desire dwelled with her. Even, now when she smelt worse than a stable that hadn't been mucked out in years and her aura shone no brighter than the dim glow which beckoned demons back to hell, there still could be no other for him but her.

Kol shook himself from his contemplations to advance his investigation. He tilted forward to angle his mouth next to the brunette's ear. "How much lighter will my billfold be for a quick shag and minimum bloodletting in the men's lavatory?"

"Excuse me," she hissed, standing straighter to attempt murder by glare. "Did you just…" she glanced around the establishment, and then lowered her voice. "Did you just proposition me?"

"I'm sorry. Was I wrong in doing so?" False contrition pulled and tugged at his features in the most unpleasant way. "You see I assumed you to be no more than a common whore or a woman of ill repute at best. For what lady would keep company with the town drunkard, all the while dallying with him outrageously in the town's pub of all places?" He tsked. "If there are feathers then there must be birds, dove. Now how about that drink and tumble?"

"Go to hell." A scowl crumpled her face right before the flat of her palm found his cheek.

The blow felt more like a caress, but the action was not what brought forth his vampiric nature. No, it was the intent behind the action. The impertinent doxy really wished to do harm to his person. Just the thought incited the veins to sluggishly move beneath the skin under his eyes.

Smugness coursed through him as he observed fear chase away anger in her topaz eyes. She would die that night, and in that moment they both knew her fate. The stench of alcohol and regrets reached his nostrils. Ah, the history teacher was back. A little light exercise before supper would do wonders for his appetite. The brunette's terror tainted gaze swung to stare over his shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure she told you to go to hell," a slightly slurred voice rasped behind him.

"And I'm pretty sure, she'll get there first."

Kol spun on his heel to face the drunken hunter only to suffer the excruciating agony of a dagger tearing through his chest cavity and piercing his heart. Colors bled away to black and white. The magical blade leeched every drop of blood from his heart and veins, plunging him into the waiting arms of desiccation. The one constant companion he'd come to know even better than his family. He contemplated how long would she embrace him this time? Another hundred years, maybe two?

Under any other circumstances, the reprieve from being a creature out of time would somewhat bring him comfort. For no one knew how he struggled each time to come terms with the unrecognizable world around him. Nobody until her. She understood him without even putting forth an effort. Would he ever see his witch again? As the thought crossed his mind, the witch in question burst through the doors of the pub with all of hell burning in her eyes. Bonnie Bennett was the last person he saw, before desiccation reclaimed him as her mate.

* * *

When Bonnie saw the guilty look on Caroline's face as she stumbled from the driver's seat of Krysta's car, her stomach dropped and her heart followed. The Scooby gang was up to their stunts and once again they'd failed to include her in their plans. No, they'd rather have her on call for clean-up duty, after their plans failed and shit hit the fan a flew everywhere. She split her lips to give her best friend the read of the century, but the look of anguish on the hybrid's face motivated the bottom of her sneakers to slap the pavement in rapid successions.

Before Bonnie could lay hands on the door of the Grille, her magic gushed from her like water from a busted fire hydrant and blew the solid wood from its hinges. Nails, metal knobs, and wooden splinters shot in multiple directions. Several shot glasses and bottles exploded behind the bar, while tiny metal spikes drove themselves into the walls, and the dart boards hanging by the pool tables. Customers rushed from the restaurant in droves. Bonnie paid the stampeding patrons no attention however, as she focused on finding her Original Vampire.

The debris from the exploding door cleared just in time for her to watch the spark of life fizzle from Kol's eyes. From that moment instinct took over, she didn't control her magic it wielded her. Without uttering one chant or incantation, she lifted her hand and the dagger wrenched itself from Kol's chest, zipped through the air and collided with her waiting palm. Once in her possession the blade burst into brilliant golden flames. The blaze engulfed her hand in warm soothing heat. After, several seconds of burning, the fire dimmed until the dagger darkened to charcoal black. Her grip tightened around the handle and the powerful weapon disintegrated to obsidian ashes that fell in charred flakes from the palm of her hand.

"Bonnie, no!" Alaric rushed forward, but a wave of the arm sent him soaring through the side door of the Grille.

Bonnie's glare flicked to Meredith Fell who still towered over Kol. She cocked a brow and Meredith arched one in return. _Was this bitch for real?_ The Founder's Council may have taught their junior member about what bumped around in the dark, but had they also taught her how to take a behind stomping? She sure as hell hoped so, because there was no way Alaric's chick was leaving with Kol's body without having a size seven sneaker broke off in her ass. After a moment of glowering at each other, the good doctor raised her hands and slowly backed away in the direction of the side door.

Before Bonnie could even release a breath (relieved or otherwise) Klaus rocketed through the front entrance of the Grill and slammed face first into the protection barrier she hadn't even known she erected.

"Witch," he growled as he slammed a fist against the barrier. "If you so much as pluck one strand of hair from my brother's head, I will dine on your entrails while my hybrids use your mother's blood to paint my study in that fetching scarlet I've always fancied."

She ignored the pissed hybrid to cradle Kol's head in her lap, taking time they didn't have to brush the sable brown locks from his forehead. A small smile pulled at her mouth. He almost looked innocent. Almost. Refusing to waste any more time, she plucked a shard of glass from the wooden floor and dragged it across her wrist.

"Do not allow Kol to drink from you, witch," Klaus spit through the slits of his teeth.

Soon as blood bubbled from the laceration, she placed the wound to Kol's slightly opened mouth.

A low growl vibrated against the part of her magic that fueled the barrier spell. She speared the hybrid with a brief dirty look before returning her focus to his brother. "Stop distracting me. The sooner I heal Kol, the sooner I can figure out how to stop your dizzy ass mother and suicidal brother."

"What are you saying, little witch?"

"Our mother is attempting to kill us, Niklaus," Elijah strolled inside the Grill from the side door. "When the full moon reaches its apex, mother will have everything she needs to reverse the spell which made us into vampires."

"She doesn't have the power." Klaus' voice met her ears as a broken whisper.

"Mother is channeling the magic of the Bennett Witch's line dead and alive in its entirety. Once the moon reaches its highest point in the sky, she'll be unstoppable, brother. Unless…"

Klaus' forehead, became an array of eyebrows and rolls. "Unless what?"

Elijah's shrewd stare strayed to her. It was the same calculating look he wore when he double-crossed her the night Klaus broke his curse. And the very same scheming expression she saw every time she had the misfortune of catching a peep of his strategically handsome face, no matter what mask he decided to adorn for the occasion.

"Ms. Bennett, exactly how long will it take before our baby brother is revived?"

"Don't know." Bonnie rolled her eyes. She absolutely loathed Klaus, but Elijah irked her in the way only fake people could. "How long did he take to revive the last twenty times you undaggered him?"

The corners of Elijah's eyes tightened, other than that tiny fissure to his mask of impassivity, his expression remained completely devoid of emotion. Was his humanity even on? How the hell could anyone tell? Her attention settled back on Kol. His skin had pinked and his dissected vessels were no longer visible through his bone white skin. Finally, they were getting somewhere.

"Drop the barrier, little witch." Klaus' voice took on a slow, but urgent tone.

"Eat shit, hybrid," she mumbled, while studying Kol for any signs of movement.

Which was unnecessary since she felt the moment his conscious became aware, and it had nothing to do with the claw like nails gauging chunks from her arm or fangs buried to the bone in her wrist. No the moment she knew Kol Mikaelson was back to terrorize the living is when her blood reached the center of the magic which maintained his vampirism. Esther was right. She may have cast the spell, but Bennett magic was infused into every letter of the invocation marking it as a powerful enchantment created from the first line of magic.

So much so, her lifeblood wanted to correct the jarring mistakes committed by the lesser witch when she cast the incantation. She wasn't really sure how she could fix a thousand year old fuck-up, but her magic gave the impression she could. Before she had a chance to explore the aged magic further, her blood connected with potent witch magic that had some characteristics of the power which cast the original vampire spell. This essence however, was not only more enthralling, it was ageless, seductive even. Threading itself with the remnants of her magic, which flowed in her blood cells. It wanted to bind with every smidgeon and fragment of her powers, until no one could tell where her essence began and this erotically inappropriate sorcery ended.

The deviltry wanted to consume her and more than anything she wanted to be consumed. If only she could give more. Then a solution damn near knocked her over. She could, she just had to get Kol to drink more. Her lids flared open to find him still lapping at her wrist and Klaus screaming his stupid head off about something she'd probably never give a damn about.

What troubled her though was Kol's fangs were no longer buried in her flesh. How the hell would she possess all of that lewd magic if he didn't drain her almost to the point of death? She eyed the shard of glass still lying next to them, she snatched it from the ground and tilted her head to the side. Klaus' bellows grew in volume. She gladly ignored him to focus on getting more of her power inside of Kol's unbelievable body.

"More," she whispered, still caught up in a major thrall. "You have to drink more."

Cognac toned eyes danced with mischief. "There's no need to drink more, little love." Kol pressed a kiss to her wrist. "You've revived me. You promised not to let go and alas you were more than true to your word." He finished in a whisper.

"Kol, you bloody idiot check her hands," Klaus yelled as he slammed the side of his fists into the barrier.

Her magic flared in response to his interference and forced a surge of energy from the barrier that tossed him across the Grill.

"No!" Damn that! A frown tugged her brows together. She placed the sharp edge of the glass to her carotid. "You have to drink more."

Right before the shard pierced the artery, Kol snatched the glass from her bloody hand and reversed their positions. As she struggled under his weight, she pleaded with her magic to come forth and restrain him, but for the first time since she had an understanding of her craft and how to call to the power within, it ignored her. _The hell?_ Cool fingers gripped her chin to stop her head from swinging side to side. Once her thrashing had stilled the Original, she'd torched many bridges for, soulful brown eyes stared directly in hers.

"Bonnie, I'll not tolerate anyone harming you. Not even you," He said, minus the playfulness and undefined smirks. "I'll live for you, but living without you will never be an alternative. I'd burn this world to the ground and massacre half of its population if it would keep you at my side."

Bonnie watched Kol's mouth flap open and closed. She could barely hear him over the call of his magic. Again she reached for her magic and again her powers refused to answer her call. "But your magic-,"

"Lovely, I have no magic." Kol's chocolate brown gaze flared as his grip on her wrists loosened. "Original vampire, remember?"

"You have magic. It's disconnected from your chakra, but it's their and active." She broke free of his hold to slide her arms around his neck and drag him closer. "Your essence calls to me, Kol. It wants to consume me…command me."

"Nonsense! You're a Bennett Witch. Your magic submits to no other." The hybrid, bellowed. He was back once again pounding on the barrier.

"Niklaus, have I missed a step?" Elijah's voice floated somewhere from the left of her. "Am I to believe Ms. Bennett and _Kol_ are familiar?"

Kol squeezed his eyes shut and muttered something under his breath, before returning his gaze to hers. "Nik's right, little love. Even if what you say is true of me still possessing magic, your powers will not yield to mine."

"Can you not revisit this discussion at a later date?" Elijah's voice developed an edge. "In two hours' time, mother will have the means to eradicate us. Am I the only one present, who believes survival is a priority?"

The threat of Esther, was enough to dampen her weird fixation with Kol's magic. Much as she hated to agree with Elijah, he was right. The Original Witch had to be stopped. How? Who the hell knew?

"He's right," she said, while mentally swiping away the sticky webs of enthrallment. Gently, she nudged Kol. When he moved, she pulled herself up in a sitting position. "She linked all of you together during the champagne toast at the ball. I'm not sure of the how, but what I do know is, she plans to put all of you in the ground tonight. My guess, she's going to use Finn as a sacrifice."

"Of course she is, and Finn the sacrificial lamb that his is, will more than willingly go along for the slaughter," Kol said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyelids shut.

"Hence, the point of the link," Klaus said as his glare found hers. "You have to unlink us, witch."

"There's no time, Nik," Kol snapped. His eyes popped open to glower at Klaus. "Moreover, she'll need all of our blood to cast an unlinking spell. Finn's included. We'll have to oppose mother head on. Maybe the element of surprise will lend us the advantage we need to defeat her."

"Or make you easier, targets," she mumbled under her breath. Three sets of vampire eyes landed on her. "What? She's channeling my entire magical line. She'll fuck you all up without even blinking. At this point I really don't know how to stop her." A scowl creased her features. Her defenses surfaced along with sparks of her magic. Well look what finally showed up and was ready to show out…about ten minutes too damn late.

"Your incompetence astounds, witch." Klaus began to pace the perimeter of the barrier. "Don't know why the Salvatores even keep you around. Oh, right. You play nurse maid to my magical blood bag. And how fitting for you to do so. Wasn't your ancestor Emily, Katerina's hand maiden. No, there was another title they used here in the colonies," he said, stopping to make a show of being deep in thought. "Ah, yes. Emily Bennett was Katherine Pierce's mammy."

Bonnie shot to her feet, and then dropped the barrier. "You know, I didn't hear you from all the way over there, Hybrid. Why don't you come a little closer and say it again."

Klaus, blurred from existence only to reappear towering over her. His searing blue eyes looked right through hers until it felt as if he'd penetrated her skull to lay claim to her brain. They stood there for several moments locked in visual warfare, both refusing to be the first to look away.

Kol's hand slipped around her waist and drew her back to his chest. "Nik, you're cavorting rather closely to the edge. You stumble over and you have my word, brother. Your end will be magnificent."

"There's a mirror by the bar, Kol," Klaus said without breaking eye contact with her. "Why don't you go distract yourself?"

"Niklaus, Ms. Bennett could very well be a potential ally against our mother. It would not bode well to anger her." Elijah's voice slid from his lips with cunning ease.

Her third eye blinked. It desperately wanted to show her something, but the Necromancer tonic had only just begun to leave her system. So her second sight was still blurry, causing her visions to be broken and fragmented.

"On the contrary, brother." A smirk curved his outrageously cherry lips. Seriously, no one lips could be that naturally red. There was just no way he wasn't wearing lipstick. "The Bennett witch's anger is right, just, and dare I say…stunning to behold. The glorious rise of such an emotion could very well topple nations, all while giving birth to new world orders." His gaze slowly travelled over her face and she could've sworn something which looked a lot like regret flickered in his eyes. Before she contribute a single thought to it, his piercing stare left hers to regard Elijah. "It's her ignorance and defeatedness I could do without."

"That's all fine and well, Brother. The hour however, grows later and the moon steadily climbs. Either we figure out how to stop mother, or we have to break the Bennett Witch's line." Elijah took a step in her direction.

Kol, not missing a thing shoved her behind him. "Let me see if I'm understanding this correctly. If my mistress-,"

"I'm not your mistress, Kol," she snapped.

"Not now, love. Your lover is endeavoring to comprehend Elijah's line of thinking when concerning you," he said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"You're not my lover either." She added.

"My darling, please."

"Sorry," she whispered.

"As I was saying," he sighed. "If _Bonnie_ is unable to stop mother, you want to kill her instead to severe the Bennett line?" He shook his head. Annoyance still tightened the corners of his eyes and thinned his lips. "And you all think I'm the sadistic one. I always knew Nik was a bloody moron, but somehow your idiocy comes as quite the revelation, Elijah."

"And you have a better plan?" Elijah's expression skirted the line which bordered doubt and open disbelief.

"Nothing as diabolical as yours, brother," he answered. "But just as effective."

"Which is, Kol?" Klaus asked, his glare never leaving Elijah.

"I know a spell which will allow Bonnie to call back her magic," he said. "It's quite simple, really. I can teach it to you on the way." He glanced at her over his shoulder.

"That sounds all well in theory, Kol. Ms. Bennett may be a Bennett Witch, but she is still only one Bennett Witch pitted against her complete ancestral lineage. Her magical line goes back thousands of years." Elijah dismissed Kol to look at Klaus. "One witch can't stand triumphant against such power."

"She won't have to," Kol insisted. "Bonnie will not attempt to wrestle control of her magical line from mother. She's merely going to summon back her magic and severe the chain. Without Bonnie's powers, a link is missing from the channel, which means…"

"Esther's connection to the other side will be broken," Klaus and Elijah completed in unison.

"See, little love." Kol pulled her to his side and gave her a breath snatching smile. "Ancient dogs can learn to _turn_ tricks."

"Um, Kol," she said, opening her mouth to correct him.

The glint of mischief in his eyes whispered it wasn't necessary. "Yes, my darling?"

"Never mind."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me, but I plan to play with them anyway!

As they reached the break in the forest, Kol squeezed Bonnie's hand to reassure her. He needed her to feel she had his support. Since they had left the automobile, her heart rate had accelerated, while her breathing was no more than rapid shallow pants. Her nerves were understandable. The ancient magic which hung heavy in the air was formidable.

A lesser witch would've retreated soon as she'd sensed the great sorcery of the ancient Bennett line. Not his witch though. No, his enchanting witch continued to place one foot in front of the other, allowing her determination to subjugate her fear, so she may act regardless of her anxieties. The fact she stood at his side, in direct opposition of her ancestors and magical birth right, wasn't lost on him.

"They are here, mother," he heard his eldest sycophant of a brother say.

"It's too soon. The moon hasn't reached its highest place in the heavens," His shrewish mother hissed back. "Quickly, see Abigail to safety."

"I will not leave you to them, mother."

"Go, my son. I'll be safe in the circle until your return. They cannot enter."

Kol and Bonnie stepped from the forest onto the witch property in time to see a disheveled Finn hoist a struggling witch into his arms, and zip into a debilitated house, which appeared to be one door slam away from caving.

"I see you have chosen to stand with my reprehensible children, Ms. Bennett. Finn tells me you actually favor the most immoral one of them all," his mother all but cooed in a sickening sweet voice that didn't suit her. "Instead of choosing the noble Elijah, or my gloriously honorable Finn and even the bold and audacious Niklaus, you select the most basic of the lot. _Kol_!" Her head shook as she wore a look of utter disbelief. _That bitch!_ Bonnie squeezed his hand.

"Please, Elijah is about as noble as Satan sitting in a pulpit. Whenever I think of Finn, Norman Bates comes to mind. And as far as Klaus goes, pssh." Bonnie swatted the air between her and his mother. "I'd rather date Rebekah."

Kol snorted. His lovely witch was such a clever girl. Bonnie's gaze cut to him and amusement sparkled her eyes.

Esther shook a finger at his little love. "Your ancestors weep for the choices you have made this eve. You will forever be known as the Bennett line's greatest shame."

"Yeah, well…my ancestors and I have issues. There's nothing left to say except, it's complicated," Bonnie said as she allowed one dainty shoulder to rise and fall.

"She's stalling," Klaus hissed as he came to a stop on the other side of Bonnie. "Begin the spell, little witch."

At that moment, Finn zipped from the house curiously wearing only one shoe. When Kol moved to intercept him the magic wafting from the pentagram flared. The flames on the torches blazed higher to lick the inky night sky, while the barrier surrounding his mother and brother singed holes into his shirt. Frustrated he stepped back.

"Well, isn't this just like days gone by?" Rage shook Kol's body as a sneer curled his lip. "The detested children cast out. Abandoned to the cold with nothing but the hard sole of Father's boot to keep us warm. While the beloved Finn finds security in mother's magic and shelter under her skirts."

His mother's cold seething eyes found him. "Kol, if I'm to be truthful, then I must say you are my least favored child, and that's no small fete. Seeing Niklaus is the one who tore my heart from my chest. Nonetheless, there has always been something loathsome about you. Bathing you as a babe always caused quite the battle. Should I drown him and start again. Or shall I be merciful and let him live. Had I known sweet Henrik was on the way, you would not have found my mercy quite so generous."

Esther's words were cutting, but he had long since grown immune to the sharp edge of her tongue. What disturbed him though, was his mother could confess such animosities in the presence of Bonnie without so much as a down cast eye to feign shame. For wasn't it she who explained away her affront against nature by claiming to have loved her children so much she turned them into immortal monsters?

Kol's face twisted and lip curled until he openly sneered. Esther was Satan's bloody mistress. The fires which danced in his mother's eyes more than proved she was none other than the Original Whore. He had always assumed his thirst for blood was inherited from Mikael. However, in that moment he understood. Every brazenly wicked thing about him was born, bred, and nurtured by his mother.

A soft delicate hand slipped in his. Bonnie had begun to chant the spell he'd taught her several minutes before. Her tongue was unyielding, tenacious even, and created to command.

When Esther's eyes flared with recognition, her face dropped the mask of indifference. "Sisters, do not allow this traitor to deter me from my path. From our path! Please, you must subdue her before she ruins everything. I implore you, sisters. Stop, her!"

The center of the pentagram expelled a burst of magic so potent sound waves followed in its wake. Prehistoric witchery drove Bonnie to her knees, while beating at him in attempts of breaking them apart. Kol held tight. He refused to be torn from her. His open defiance incited the sorcery. The wrath released upon him was breathtaking in its retaliation.

Excruciating burns seared his face and hands, while exquisite lacerations assaulted him from hair roots to toe nails. No part of his body was spared, but for every torment he suffered his little love reaped the worse of the malevolent energy's brutality. Black veins wreathed like parasitic worms beneath her beautiful brown skin. Tears black as tar pooled in her sunken eyes and slithered down her gaunt cheeks.

The glow of her, still slightly tarnished, gold aura began to dim and wane. The deviltry flowing about labored methodically to leach away her life force in an effort to deny her the heritage given unconditionally to every Bennett Witch at birth. Kol never believed his unending existence would one day allow him to bear witness of the entire Bennett line willingly sacrificing their own to assist a wickedly fallen witch such as Esther. Sometimes even the mundaneness of eternity could mystify.

"They're killing her to maintain the link. Bloody do something, Kol," Klaus yelled, while attempting to force his way through translucent shimmering wall of magic which imprisoned he and his witch. "Stop her from completing the spell. She's not strong enough."

"There's nothing to be done for Ms. Bennett. You have to turn her, Kol," Elijah yelled over the screeching roar of ancient magic.

"What?" Nik and he roared in unison.

Elijah glowered at them in that pretentious way of his. As if they were the ones in error. "It's the only way to save us all. Ms. Bennett included."

"First, remind me to set your brother on fire later. And second," Bonnie wheezed through the pain. "I can do this…but only if you help me."

"How?" Kol asked, confounded on who to trust to keep his witch on this side of the veil. And then a vision of her a few years older smiling at him over her shoulder the exact same way she'd done the previous night shattered his confusion. He trusted her. Inexplicably, so. "Tell me how."

"Kol! Consider my words carefully." Klaus growled, as his face flashed between vampire and wolf. "If she dies, there will be no more dagger and boxes for you. This time your death will be final. Hell will be yours for all of eternity, brother."

"Nik! Will you please?! I can't hear Bonnie over your bellows." Kol snapped as he attempted to compartmentalize his unequivocal agony, Nik's unimaginative threats, and Elijah's unrelenting crusade to slaughter his mistress. "I'm sorry, my darling. Please continue. Enlighten me on how to assist you."

"Your…m-magic," she stammered as blood trickled from her nose. "Let me channel your magic."

_Well Hell's bells!_ "But I have no magic, little love." Irritation coursed through him. Why did she insist on placing him in a position fated for failure?

If his terror was consummated, then she would perish because he wasn't enough. He had no magic. All he had to offer was blood and death. Death and blood…blood and…blood! Not giving himself a moment longer to reflect, he allowed his fangs to burst from his gums, and then tear into his wrist. He pressed the bloody extremity to her mouth. At first he thought he would have to coax her to drink, but the moment his limb touched her lips she clamped down. She swallowed gulps, until her golden aura seeped from her pores and burst from her eyes, turning viridian pools to golden emerald fire.

The broken whispers, which uttered the chant before gained intensity until Bonnie's voice vibrated, and the ground shook. As her strength rallied, she climbed to her feet, pulling him up with her.

"Say the chant with me," she insisted.

When his voice joined hers each of the torches fizzled out one after the other. Until the only thing lighting the property was her aura. The thick heaviness in the atmosphere began to abate.

"Sisters, no," Esther screamed as she fought against Finn's hold. "You cannot abandon me."

"We have to go, mother," Finn said, lifting Esther into his arms.

"But-,"

The arse kisser didn't give their mother an opportunity to finish her sentence, before whisking her away. A pity, her neck would've looked so lovely trapped between his hands. Bonnie swaying on her feet, wrenched him from his reveries. He wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. She gave him a forced smile, which made her give the impression of a beast baring teeth. Concern creased the skin between his brows.

"We should-," he began.

The older witch from earlier tore out of the decrepit house. She only made it halfway to them before a blur from behind plucked her off the ground mid-sprint. In fact, her feet still moved as if she continued to tread grass.

"Damon," Bonnie's voice came out breathy and hoarse. "What the hell are you doing? Let Abby go."

"No can do, Bon-Bon." The older Salvatore's human face dissolved into red eyes and black wreathing veins. When his fangs fully descended he ripped into his palm and shoved it over the witch's mouth. "Your boyfriend's brother took Elena. And when I say boyfriend, I also would like to add ewe. What the hell are you thinking? And switching teams after all this time." He tsked. "Who's Wade without LeBron, Bennett?"

_Just who the bloody hell was Wade and LeBron?_

A small sigh crept from Bonnie's perfectly crooked mouth. If not supporting her, he would've missed the imperceptible tell of weariness.

"Exactly, what are you talking about, Damon? Who took Elena?" She asked, attempting to stand on her own only to collapse into his side.

The vampire forced air from his mouth, while rolling his eyes toward the sky. "Mr. 'I'm never fully dressed without a suit and a tie over' there. He gave us until 9 o'clock to kill-,"

"That will be all, Salvatore." Elijah strode forward, tossing a handkerchief at Kol as he passed. "The crisis, as you can see is averted. I've already spoken with Rebekah and she's assured me Elena is quite safe and still very much alive. So if you'd be so kind as to release Ms. Bennett, our business will be concluded."

The younger Salvatore brother chose that moment to join the conversation. "Damon, I just spoke with Elena. She says Rebekah let her go."

"Just as I said," Elijah said with a lift of the brow.

"In the center of Grady Wilkes farm," Stefan finished.

"How unfortunate." A wicked smirk twisted Nik's lips. "Tell me, is Daisy still patrolling the grounds of the Wilkes' farm?"

"Caught sight of her grazing this morning as I entered town," Elijah confirmed.

Nik's smirk double in size and became downright depraved.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, Wolfie." The older Salvatore snapped. "If something happens to Elena then it's bye-bye hybrids."

"You seem to be under the misconception, I need Elena alert and oriented to harvest doppelgänger blood. Why a comatose Elena will be just as effective, and easier to manage." Niklaus' expression took a devious turn.

The elder Salvatore's face fell before he dropped his hold on Bonnie's mother. When he whirled on his heel to leave and unseen hand snatched him backwards. He landed at the feet of the witch he'd so carelessly tossed away. Precisely, how dim could one be? Any vampire with half their senses intact knew better than to give their back to a vengeful witch. But even a werewolf with nothing but air between their ears perceived the peril of making an enemy of a Bennett Witch.

Even the asinine Salvatore brothers should've had more foresight than to douse themselves in kerosene, and then endeavor to dally with sparks and flames. His little love should've taught the ridiculous bastards such lessons long ago. A frown laid waste to his man apart impassiveness. Why didn't they respect his formidable witch?

"Abby?" Bonnie attempted, once again, to straighten from her slouch. This time Kol's hold remained firm around her.

"Today has been a supernatural hell. I've had my magic hijacked by an old ass witch who probably at some point dated Attila the Hun, been abducted by a self-hating suicidal original vampire who smelt like literal cow shit, and then force fed vampire blood by a two faced son of a bitch who claims to be my daughter's greatest ally." The elder witch's hand crumpled into a fist and darted over her head.

The eldest Salvatore left the grass and shot into the sky. His body dangled several feet off the ground. "You're not fit to lick the bottom of my baby girl's sneakers. None of you are. I'm getting her out of Mystic Falls. Fucking around with you all, she won't live pass her graduation. By the time you awake, correction…if you awake. Any attempts to find us will turn your eternity into a hot damn second. That also goes for you as well, _Original_."

"Abby," Bonnie rasped. "Don't! Whatever you're gonna do just…don't."

"It's gonna be okay, Bonnie B." The elder Bennett witch's eyes went completely black. "Everything's going to be fine."

Kol stiffened. He recognized the hex which slid so easily from her lips. The Suicide Curse. A hex which forces the most appalling of creatures to emotionally and physically undergo every inexcusable act they've ever committed against the innocent in first person until genuine contrition is gained. Many chose death within the initial hour of being cursed, rendering themselves victims of their own hand. Hence, the name.

Seconds after the chant began, smoky obsidian tendrils seeped from the elder Bennett Witch's body and churned with life. It stirred over the property, toying with them all. Taking time to know its prey. The sinister magic appeared to be well versed in cat and mouse play. It whipped about the old property cunningly drawing them closer together. He felt like a fox gazing unblinkingly down the wrong end of a rifle.

" _Kol_ ," Klaus called to him without tearing his scrutiny away from Abby, and the swarming serpent like tendrils. "What is this?"

"I do believe the Bennett witch is attempting to cast some sort of spell," Elijah answered as a frown puckered his brow. "Why I very well think she means to harm us."

"How astute of you, Elijah!" Klaus speared their older brother with a stare, which practically gushed condescension from his sockets "What gave it away? The malicious glares or the fact her deviltry is toying with us like tiny ants under a magnifying glass?"

"Damn it, Bonnie," The elder Salvatore wheezed between coughs and gags as he aspirated on copious amounts of the blood pouring from his mouth. "Call off your crazy pants mother. I think she's going for my heart."

"Hang in there, Damon. I'm coming for you, brother," Stefan yelled, before hurtling towards the elder witch at vampire speed.

Within two meters of her, he collided with a protective barrier. The magic holding the barricade in place, retaliated by launching the idiotic vampire across the vast expanse of the property. He landed in the center of the pentagram. All the torches surrounding Esther's spell site burst into flames, effectively confining him within the circle.

Elijah shoved his hand in the front pocket of his trousers as he eyed the remarkably obtuse vampire. "It would seem the younger Salvatore is severely lacking in senses which are quite common to others."

"Your witlessness is profoundly alarming, Ripper." Nik chortled in spite of the dangerous slant of their predicament. "However do you tie your shoes without falling on your head?"

"A sodding wanker is what he is!" Kol concluded, staggered by the utter stupidity exhibited on the younger vampire's part. Did he really bloody fathom he'd prevail over a powerful witch at the pinnacle of her magic? "It's a wonder how he and his dippy brother has blundered along for this long." He fixed the younger Salvatore with a slit eyed glare. "You do realize the only reason you're not wreathing in your own excrement right now is because my alluring witch wills it so?"

As if queued, the elder Salvatore brother began screeching his foolish head off.

"Stefan, you _idiot_!" The older Salvatore slurred, while gurgling on his blood. "Who's gonna save Elena now? That stupid cow is gonna tear her to pieces. Bennett, you have to find a way to help her."

"Anyone who finds themselves ripped to pieces by a cow, deserves their fate. Especially, that insipid little doppelgänger." Kol deduced, while skewering the dangling Salvatore with a pointed stare. "Now do be quiet so my little love may lend her focus on saving us all you, pointless buffoon."

Bonnie snorted. "You do know Daisy is no ordinary cow, right?" She asked, with her eyes still closed, while tiny beads of sweat dampened her brow.

"Rubbish, how can any cow be anything other than ordinary?" He countered as he assessed her face for further strain. "They do nothing more than toddle about in groups and moo incessantly. The only time I find one truly interesting is when it's served rare and bloody on my dinner platter. To fear one is absolute lunacy. I'm sure the ever uninspiring doppelwench is fine."

"Please, I'm not worried about Elena. My best friend has a PhD in survival," she said as tension seeped into her tone. "She's probably safely tucked away in a tree by now."

She wouldn't be able to sustain in such a state for long, already her brilliant life force had begun to ebb. "Little love, you can't continue in this way for much longer."

"It's okay, Kol," she said, while squeezing his hand. "Now shut up while I try something and whatever happens, don't move. None of you. If you do," She glance around the property, locking gazes with every Salvatore and Original alike. "I won't be able to help you."

His little love's golden aura unfurled from her delectable person. The warmth of her powers swathed him, and the others who had the misfortune of being in the pathway of an avenging Bennett Witch.

Kol's gaze fell to the elder Bennett Witch in question. She now twirled, leaped, and chanted about the expanse of the property in wild abandon. Her graceful lithe movements were identical to her daughter's own agile style of dance from the previous evening. They both shared the same talent of commanding a gathering. Niklaus could barely tear his lecherous gaze from the older witch. Honestly, did his appreciation of the fairer sex ever come second to anything?

When Abby had spun the last of her witchery and uttered the final verbiage of the hex, the obsidian tendrils of magic seized its aimless wandering and each crashed into its chosen target. The force of the dark sorcery colliding into his person was nothing short of teeth rattling, yet Bonnie's protective spell remained intact. The atmosphere thickened almost to the point of human suffocation as it swelled to contain the dark sorcery's rage. Moments after the initial attack, murky tendrils struck them at will. The younger Salvatore was knocked prone, his face driven into one of the five points of the pentagram. Bonnie's power however, held firm.

After countless strikes, the elder Bennet Witch's magic withdrew to swirl threateningly above their heads. The reprieve was short lived. Not even seconds later it whipped pass the others to take aim at a new target. Bonnie.

"Shit," his witch hissed under her breath. "Kol…"

"Shh," he said, before pressing his lips to her forehead. "It's going to be fine…no matter the outcome."

Nefarious energy surrounded them in preparation of an all-out attack. He gathered Bonnie to his chest, providing her with the feigned security of his embrace. Feigned, because there could be no safety found with him from what coveted their destruction. The only allowance he could make was to stay at her side until the end and even then after.

"Is it now your intent to snuff out that of your own flesh and blood?" He raged, for he knew not what else to do in such a helpless situation.

The expression of utter horror upon the elder witch's face bespoke of her no longer being in control of her magic. She soon recovered by the grace of her righteous anger, lifting her hands to command the wreathing mass of pitch dark energy. The sinister magic however, had grown far beyond her control. There would be no calling it back without grave consequences, he mused right before mystical darkness hurtled towards them. Mere inches from impact, the obsidian magic halted.

"NO," Abbey roared. "NOT HER!"

Fury infused each word from her mouth with vibrations so powerful, the air pulsed around them. The snapping of tree limbs could be heard in the distance, while the earth quaked beneath their feet. The shaking land triggered the ground to give way to narrow fissures and dry channels throughout the old witch property. Visible sound waves rushed from her lips as she started to chant the very same spell he'd taught his little love only a mere hour before.

Kol scoffed. The elder Bennett Witch didn't strike him as being daft or illiterate in the ways of witchcraft. She had to be aware of the ramifications of performing such a spell on unstable magic.

Kol opened his mouth to hold the elder witch accountable for her recklessness, only to snap it shut when his witch's knees buckled and she began to convulse in his arms. The prolonged expenditure of magic, had motivated her tiny frame to rebel in efforts of saving itself. When the fits seized, her consciousness fled. After he lifted Bonnie's body in his arm and cradled her close, the slow retreat of Abby's dark magic back to its origin, pricked his notice.

Was the bloody cow mad? If she called back her energy while still in its unpredictable state she'd surely dispatch herself and wreck Bonnie in the process. His little love would never forgive him if he stood by and let her mother meet her end.

"Give her to me, Kol," Nik yelled over the whipping of the wind, and the crackling in the air. "The least you can do is make an effort to save the elder Bennett Witch.

"And why the sodding hell does it have to be me?" He demanded, while clutching his witch closer to his chest.

"Because she bloody chose you that's why," Nik said as his eyes flashed amber. "And you're gonna live up to every fictional preconceived notion she has of you. Beginning by saving her mad cow of a mother. Now go pretend to be the hero, Baby Brother. And as always, I'll see to the rest."

Kol glowered at his brother, who in return continued to watch him completely unfazed. He bristled, more than a little annoyed with Niklaus' highhandedness, but pushed it away to stare down at the sleeping witch's face. More than anything, he wanted to see her to safety, but after all she'd gone through to ensure the survival of him and his siblings, he had to do something to balance the scales between them. In that moment he decided to do the very thing that would surely make a mockery of his character. He decided to be the blasted hero. Just that once…for her.

"You damn well better watch over her, Nik," he said, reluctantly placing his witch in Niklaus' arms.

"Save the declarations of concern," Nik said with a raised brow eye roll. "She can't hear you, baby brother. She's out like the village lush after an end of the week binder."

Once Bonnie was safely tucked in Nik arms, he spun away, zipping back through the forest. Kol watched his witch and ass of a brother blur away into the night. When he could no longer hear the crunch of Nik's boots striking the leaves he spun on his heel to give what aid he could to Bonnie's mother. Upon first assessment, he knew there would be no saving her.

Her once golden skin, now shone the same shade as an onyx stone. The caramel color of her eyes were no more. In their place were pools of pitched ink which were so dark her pupils were lost to the blackness of her irises. The dark sorcery had returned to lay claim to its mistress. Determined to do her bidding, even if the curse was unleashed on her.

Dark crimson tears coursed down her cheeks, and gushed from her nose. He handed her the handkerchief Elijah had given him earlier. Instead of utilizing the scrap of cloth, she threaded it through her fingers and clasped her hands in her lap. For several moments she was content to sit on the grass, while staring into the distance.

Her laughter alone silenced the howling of the wind. Everything became still as if nature held her breath. "I can see them all you know. The sadistic son-of-bitches hearts I stopped in order to protect good and decent people from your kind. In what kismet logic would those ass holes be counted among the innocent?"

"You know that's not how the spell functions, love," he said, while stooping next to her. "The blood which drenches your conscience decides who's counted among the innocent. In the end your torment is yours alone to customize."

"Yeah, I know," she said, while observing him from the cut of her eye. "But how the hell do you?"

"I have a great respect for witches. Was even one myself before my heartless bitch of a mother turned me and my siblings." After a thousand debauched years, his human memories were still quite vivid. "Ayana called me a prodigy on more than one occasion. She was your-,"

"I know who Ayana Bennett was," she said, snapping her teeth in little curt bites. "It doesn't explain how you knew about the curse. I saw the look on your face when I started chanting. You knew the spell I was trying to cast. How?" A fleeting expression of agony flickered across her face. The hex had begun to take effect. In minutes she'd be trapped in her own mind reliving her victims last moments.

"I'm the one who inspired the sodding curse." Although, he swore to take that admission to his final death, he utilized the confession as a distraction for Abby.

The elder witch's eyes flared, right before she began cackling like the bloody witch from one of those moving pictures Bekah made him watch after he'd first exited his coffin. "You were the dumb fuck who pissed off the French Quarter Queen?"

Kol sighed. "Oh sweet Marie was often prone to bouts of unfounded rage. She discovered me with _one_ strumpet and you'd thought I slaughtered her favorite dress maker," he said, allowing himself to reminisce over the powerful Voodoo queen. "You know I even tried explaining, I was only sating my thirst and lust. That the wench meant absolutely nothing to me. Alas, my mistress had a great love for the stage and believed in transforming every moment in to a scene. As a result of her fancy for all things dramatic, that blasted curse was conceived. I spent most of the 1800's daggered in a box because of her."

"You're an ass, Kol Mikaelson," Abbey said with no real severity in her tone. "It's no wonder I practically force fed my baby girl Necromancer Tonic."

"Ah, the Necromancer Tonic." He bobbed his head. "Elder witch's first line of defense against, whores, ale, and vampires. Should've guessed there was treachery underfoot."

"For all the good it did me, because here you stoop unfazed by her stench or distorted aura." She wheezed, before wiping away the blood from her nose with the back of her hand. "You know, if I was ignorant, with only three brain cells left to my name, didn't have the sense God gave a chicken and could overlook my searing hatred of vampires, I'd _almost_ believe you cared for my child."

"Hilarious. You're every bit of a one woman show," he said, blessing her with his most mocking smirk. They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes until Abbey began to grunt and his curiosity found the most human part of him. "Why'd you do it, love? Why call back your magic when you knew it was a death sentence?"

"Because energy can't be d-destroyed, it c-can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. Had I not called it back, then it would've laid claim to Bonnie. And I will not have this for her." Resolve strengthened her voice. "I'd die a thousand damn times before I let the filth in-,"

"Oh would you just shut up and die already," The elder Salvatore yelled from where he still dangled in the air. "The girl I love has probably been trampled to death by a _cow-,"_

"I love her too, Damon," the younger Salvatore declared from his prostrate position in the pentagram.

"Noted, Stefan." The elder Salvatore rolled his eyes, before retraining his electric blue contacts (because Kol adamantly refused to believe anyone's natural eye color could be the exact shade of a methane flame, whether they were vampire or not) back on Abbey. "Newsflash, Mama Bennett, mothers who genuinely love their kids don't leave. So how about you pretend to love bouncing baby Bennett on your own damn time, because nothing matters more to me than the brown eyed girl who's probably clinging to life on Crazy Grady's farm."

"She matters to me too, Damon," The younger Salvatore yelled, all while attempting to keep his face out of the grass.

"Yeah? Then why in the hell did you try and save me instead of going for her, brother?" The eldest of the brothers spat.

"Because she would've wanted me to save you first, before coming for her." The younger of the two growled.

The elder Salvatore scoffed. "You're an _idiot_ , brother."

"You're both bleeding idiots. Now shut it!" Kol growled his frustration as he stood. He then swung his gaze to meet Abbey's. "You know, I wouldn't mind attempting to act out one of Nik's more colorful threats. The one about snatching a heart from a nostril appears to be more than appropriate for the situation. What do you think, darling?"

"First, that's impossible." A sneer brought life back to Abbey's flat expression. "Second, I think you should help me up and let me take out my own damn trash."

"Your wish is my privilege, Ms. Bennett." He reached down to help Abby to her feet.

She clutched her chest, while swaying a bit at first, but soon discovered her footing. Once steady on her feet, she ambled her way over to the scowling and still dangling elder Salvatore. His unimpressive glare had even less of an affect than a hissing kitten. She stopped within mere inches of the vampire and met his glower with one of her own before her lips folded into a grin which was thoroughly cheeky in nature. Reaching up, she grabbed one of Salvatore boots, and then sent him whirling around like a bloody ballerina. The vampire hissed, snarled, and howled so greatly through the pirouettes, Kol had a mind to start calling him Mittens.

"Freeing your heart from your chest would make my damn day, and had it been yesterday I'd be holding it in my hand right now," Abbey said as she took control of Salvatore's boot again and jerked him to a stop. "My daughter is a Bennett Witch. A first born daughter in the direct line of first born daughters that leads all the way back to the first very first Bennett Witch. Do you even know what that means?"

"That you put way too much time, effort and money into Ancestors dot dot dot? Who cares where her magical line began? As long as she uses her powers to keep Elena safe, we'll always be on the same side," Salvatore said, while attempting a shrug which wouldn't send him careening in the opposite direction.

Kol scoffed. "Until someone else comes along with a mind to bargain Bonnie's life away for Elena's. You've more than proven the lengths you'd go to keep Elena safe. Now take that unexceptional intensity, multiply it by the largest number your miniscule brain can comprehend, and know whatever sum totals out will still not quantify the ground I'll scorch, the vampires I'll drain, or the literal hell I will most assuredly bring about to secure her life above all. And if somehow that isn't enough and Bonnie Bennett should still fall, then make no mistake, Salvatore. No one will be immune to my wrath. Not even your beloved doppelbitch."

"Wow, all this for a girl you met two minutes ago." Damon whistled. "I shudder to think where your level of passion will be seventy-two hours from now. Something tells me you've already picked out a ring. A heads up though, before you start choosing baby names and arguing over whether the little rug rat will attend Eton or Hogwarts, you should know Bennett Witches are wack-a-doodle. Can't count how many times Bon-Bon has tried to set my ass on fire. But hey, don't take my word for it. Check out the Bennett Witch right next to you… _as in her mother!_ That bitch be bananas."

Kol stepped forward to correct the younger vampire's insolence, but Abbey held up a hand. "Don't bother. Besides, my mother always said, if you argue with fools then what the hell does that make you?"

"Sheila Bennett," Salvatore cried. "Another Bennett Witch who flew over the cuckoo's nest."

"See, I realize my mistake now. TLC had it right. I never should've took my ass off chasing waterfalls. There's nothing wrong with splashing around in the rivers and lakes I came up in." Abbey pushed up the sleeves on her sweater.

"What does that even mean?" Salvatore asked, nearly choking on blood and exasperation.

"I should've stuck with what—the hell—I knew." Abbey raised her hands.

Kol grabbed her arm. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? Your magic is still unstable, attempting to use it now will kill you. Notice how I said will instead of could?"

"Back the hell off, Original," Abby barked, yanking her arm free. "I got this!"

The elder Bennett Witch's fist shot back into the air. In a sharp precise move, she flicked her wrist. Three very distinct loud cracks cut through the silence one after the other. The elder Salvatore body hit the ground. A moment later Abby's followed suit. Her eyes were wide and empty. While her face and the front of her body were no longer positioned in the same direction. Not only had she broken both Salvatores' feeble necks, she'd managed to break her own foolish one as well.

"BLEEDING, BLOODY, HELL!" Kol sank to his knees next to the dead Bennett Witch. "You stupid, stupid, stupid, COW! You aura had begun to return to normal! You were going to live! Your blood line ensured it! Now look at you! You're dead, and they're gonna think I've killed you. It's only logical. Especially, after the stunt you pulled this night against me and my siblings." He gestured to the two brothers' lifeless bodies. "It'll be those bloody sodders word against mine. And who in bleeding hell will believe the depraved, dastertardly, Kol Mikaelson?"

"I believe you, baby brother," Elijah said, stepping from the shadows. "For I saw it all unfold with my very own eyes. You warned the witch, it's not your responsibility she did not listen. Worry not. I'll bear witness for you, Kol."

"For all the bloody good it'll do me. Bonnie trusts you even less than Nik," Kol snapped, annoyed by the whole damn predicament. "You tell her the sky is blue and free for all. She'll ask for pictures and receipts."

"Then she'll just have to take her mother's word, if not mine," Elijah said, while swatting imaginary lint from the sleeve of his jacket.

He stared at his older brother as if he'd escaped an asylum. "Are you daft, Elijah? The only way Bonnie and her mother will have words is if she performs a sodding séance."

"Brother, have you forgotten that dullard Salvatore force fed the Bennett Witch his blood? Her pursuit of vengeance is the only reason she's dead and broken at our feet."

"It's not the only reason, brother," he said, glaring accusingly at his older brother.

"That's neither here nor there, Kol. I've done no less than all of you have done in the past to secure our survival. I'm more than justified in my actions. Instead of assigning fault, you should take comfort in knowing your relationship with Ms. Bennett will remain intact," Elijah stooped to gather the broken Bennett witch in his arms. "Now come, the young Bennett Witch will be anxious to know the fate of her mother."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me, but I plan to play with them anyway!

Sleep did not release Bonnie with care or in comforting stages. Slumber doused away the swirling abyss that held her captive with the harsh light of cold reality. Her sub-consciousness refused to repress or even water down a smidgen of the last twenty-four hours. Every event that took place slammed her mind all at once. The Necromancer Tonic, Esther's visit to inform of her plans of filicide, finding out Kol was an Original, being abducted by his brother, getting hit by a car (adjacent), going ten rounds with her ancestors, and almost being dropped kicked to the other side by her mother's surprisingly potent dark magic. Lucidity, along with her comrades, clarity and revelation, had taken aim and fired shots that illuminated every level of her psyche. Ignorance was not to be her bliss.

Bonnie's eyelids snapped open. An abundance of shimmering turquois threaded with scarlet, glowed to give light to an otherwise darkened room. Kol's aura dampened her building anxiety, while relief unlocked her muscles. She'd managed to save him. She'd managed to save all of them. Even Klaus. _Damn!_ Those saves couldn't be avoided, though. Not even Elijah's. _Double damn!_ They were collateral rescues.

The pillow top mattress she lay on was unfamiliar, but the hard pec pressed against her cheek was not. The firm hill belonged to the Original vampire who, by law of nature, should've been her sworn enemy. Instead, he focused her thoughts and stilled her nerves. Nothing between them made a bit of sense, but sense flew out the window two years ago when two vampires hot stepped it into town.

"You've been slumbering for several hours, little Love." The melodic lilt of Kol's voice slayed the silence in the room. "Had I not heard the steady beat of you heart I would've succumb to worry."

"You don't need to worry about me, Kol. No matter how many times I've fallen, there's never been a time I haven't gotten back up." When she tried to smile her lips barely achieved a tremble.

The expression on his face remained impassive, but his chocolate brown irises burned with sentiments she didn't know well enough to even begin to understand. "The amount of magic you wielded at the witches' property could've killed you. You're powerful but far from invincible. You should've relinquished the spell when I advised you."

"That wasn't an option," She said, pulling herself in a sitting position while shaking her head.

"It was always an option," Kol countered, sitting up as well. The sting of his gaze on the side of her face, incited her magic to swirl beneath the surface of her skin. "You just chose not to consider the alternative. To do so was unwise and beyond reckless."

"I don't care, Kol," she said, attempting to put as much force behind her words as her weakened body would allow. "Watching you die will never be an option I'll ever consider."

"Why-,"

"Don't ask me why," she said, raising a hand to halt his question, "because, I'm not sure what's going on between us. What I do know is, watching Alaric dagger you resolved every doubt I had about stopping your crazy ass mother."

"So you harbored doubts over saving me?" He questioned in a voice that barely crested over a whisper.

"Only because it meant saving Klaus and Elijah too," she said, without a stutter of hesitation. "But when I saw the magic animating, drain from your eyes and skin…" she clenched her back teeth, while shaking her head. "I would've stopped Esther from killing you even if it meant saving Jack the Ripper in the process."

An expression Bonnie couldn't read skipped across Kol's face. "It's quite amusing you'd say-,"

"Agh!" She wailed. The dull throb behind her left eye sharpened. A blinding shooting pain penetrated her brain to pierce the center.

Kol moved at vamp speed to occupy the space in front of her on the mattress. He then cradled her face in his hands. "Do you ache?"

 _Did she ache?_ Bonnie's magic had damn neared her, and left only quivering chunks and fragments of her in its wake. There wasn't one piece and part of her that didn't throb. Hell, agony even gnawed on her soul. She held his concerned gaze.

"A little," she lied.

"Here." A fraction of a second later the sound of fangs tearing into flesh met her ears, and then a bloody wrist floated only inches away from her mouth. "Take from me what you need." He whispered next to her ear as he smoothed the hair from her face. "Even if it's the last drop you require, little Love."

Droplets of blood dripped on her jeans and the silk down duvet. This entire scene should've reunited her with the cheeseburger and fries she'd wolfed down earlier, but anticipation gripped her gut as a shocking replacement for nausea. If her excitement at the thought of guzzling his blood wasn't twisted enough, then to add ecstasy to a complete mind fuck, her mouth began to water to the point of drooling. _The hell?_

A smug grin tainted Kol's captivating mouth. He lifted a hand and with the pad of his thumb, he dabbed away the dribble from the corner of her lips. Embarrassment should've ate her raw, but she was thirsty. And that thirst slaughtered her embarrassment, while tempting her with the promise of ancient magic and eternal life. She had to have him. In fact, she had to have every drop of his Original ass.

The notion of his life force gushing down her throat slung her instincts into a frenzy. Such thoughts also incited those impulses to trample every last one of her reservations. With not even a tenth of shame remaining to hold her in check, she yanked the offered limb to her mouth and drank. The instant his blood entered her system, her magic swarmed each of his cells faster than thirst buckets would flood Drake if he ever found himself dropped in the middle of a T.H.O.T convention.

The power in her greedily accepted Kol's offer by taking his essence to the very center of her sorcery. A gasp interrupted the slow even flow of his breath. Low guttural growls thundered within his chest. Wickedness glinted his chocolate brown eyes as he buried a hand in her hair. His fingers tangled themselves in her roots. Sharp nails dug into her scalp as he forced more of his wrist into her mouth.

Bonnie swallowed his sweet tangy life force by the mouthful. Gulping him down so fast, she choked and gagged more than a drunk chick doing a keg stand, but she couldn't stop. Not even if it meant saving the world. No amount of him would ever be enough. In fact, every time he healed she used her magic to reopen the wound.

"Little Love," he gasped as his grip tightened. "Please…don't even think to spare a drop…take it all…I beseech you…bleed me out."

Kol's pleas made her eyes cross, while his gasps and groans begged the lower half of her to get involved. She actually had to force herself not to hump his damn leg. He was driving her crazy and breaking her way pass the point of repair. At the conclusion of them, there could be no one else. Because if truth was being sold by the pound, what other man, warlock, vampire, or werewolf would ever shine bright enough to be free of Kol Mikaelson's shadow? Not even a progeny of the sun could achieve such a fete.

As Bonnie continued to consume the faint traces of potent witch sorcery from his blood, her power longed to once again reside in his ancient magical essence. Before two thoughts could come together in a coherent notion as to why she shouldn't, she tilted her head until the entire side column of her throat was bared.

In a speed that travelled way beyond the capability of vamp abilities, Bonnie found herself flat on her back with Kol's nose and mouth buried in the crook of her shoulder. One of her hands left his wrist to caress the nape of his neck. She applied a slight amount of pressure hoping he'd get the message and snatch them both from the throes of an unresolved ending.

"Bonnie," he breathed into her ear. "I want nothing more than to engage in an extensive round of blood play with you. Unfortunately, there are things which must be discussed. Things concerning the events that transpired at the witch's property after you took your leave," he murmured between nibbles on her earlobe.

The underworked selfish bitch in her wanted to tell him to shut the hell up and bite her. However, ignoring whatever troubles that waited would only increase the mess she'd have to deal with later. So reluctantly, she pulled her mouth away from his wrist. She ran her tongue across her teeth to savor the very last drop of him. The scant reminder of his magical life force, overwhelmed her senses. While his earlier pleas hammered her eardrums.

An involuntary moan tangled itself in her vocals chords as the rest of his essence slid down her throat. The throb which assaulted various parts of her body receded and converged on one focal point. The apex of her thighs. A dull ache pounded her core until wet heat seeped from her to extend the Original… _her_ Original a very slippery invitation to one of the most exclusive places on Earth.

Kol's nostrils flared. His face blurred between creature and fallen angel. Low drawn out growls forced soul shaking vibrations into her chest cavity. The exquisite sensation served to intensify the throb. Her favorite pair of granny panties became collateral damage. Normally, when her hormones got loose, her fingers came to the rescue. This time however, double clicking the mouse wouldn't do. No, she needed the man or abomination—depending on who you asked—on top of her, a hell of lot more than she needed her hand.

"Why you smell positively inviting. I suspect that means the Necromancer Tonic has finally passed from your delectable person. Yet, can one ever truly be sure without concrete evidence to legitimize suspicions? No, I think not, little Love. Wait here, while I inspect." His voice left his lips in a breathy whisper, before he descended her body to bury his face in the center of her thighs. After several deep inhales, he lifted his head. Her breath caught. He'd shaken his human façade to the left for his all too real vamp appearance and a set of fully extended fangs. "Perhaps, we do have time for a brief bloodletting."

Bonnie should've kicked him in the damn face and hauled ass out of there, but the twisted side of her that got off on torturing hybrids and giving vampires aneurysms, yelled: _Bitch, chill! He's about to make it hurt sooo good._ The premonition provoked Bob Marley to croon in anticipation, while trembling hands shot from her sides to fumble with the button on her jeans.

Kol laughed, his tone all rasp and sharp edges. He gently knocked her clumsy fingers away. "Please, extend me the privilege of disrobing your faultless body, my enchanting seductress. After all, I have waited a full forty-eight hours for you. That's longer than I've ever waited for anyone in my human or undead life."

 _Oh damn!_ The pressure was on and she didn't know what the hell she was doing. "M-maybe I should shower first," she said, suddenly remembering her day of Necromancer hell and a very sticky code brown situation. "There was an altercation between me and a cow patty today."

A little _'me'_ time could buy her a minute or thirty to Google some things on her phone and hose down the hedges. The last thing she wanted was for Kol Mikaelson to upchuck on the punani because of an odor factor. Especially, since it would be the first time Bob Marley rocked the mic. What kind of fan would she be if she let him hit the stage unprepared? Because, let's face it. She had quite the harry situation going on south of the belly button. For the sake of being real, it looked like Lil' Wayne was giving her face time down there. Not to mention, her granny panties were never meant to see, sunlight, moonlight, or any light that wasn't her bedroom light.

"That doesn't matter to me, Lovely," he said, while tugging her jeans from her body. "I'll have you know, I once copulated in a manure infested stable with a fetching scullery maid who had an odd proclivity for smearing herself in horse dung while being taken hard and fast from behind. You smell nowhere near as foul as she. In fact," he pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, "your scent is downright mouthwatering."

 _Oh shit!_ He didn't want to wait. "Look, I'm not sure of the type-,"

The snap of Kol's neck, and the flash of teeth was the only warning she received before his fangs punctured her thigh. Soon as her essence circulated its way through his body, deep seated bliss had her clawing at the duvet. She wailed from the bases of her lungs. Pleasure induced spasms radiated from where he'd plunged his razor-sharp enameled daggers into her femoral artery. The tiny convulsions collided with the bundle of nerves secreted away in the folds of Bob Marley. Each spasmodic hit twisted her bucking frame like a pretzel. As Kol's repeated growls provoked her to pull viciously at his hair.

When she arrived at the conclusion she was about to pass (the fuck) out, hell kicked Kol's door off the hinges. The darkened room exploded in brilliant light. A blur of a beyond pissed hybrid bled into existence followed by a horrified Caroline, an utterly shocked but smirking Rebekah, and a rather impassive Elijah.

The Original going to town between her thighs was so turned out by her blood, he gave a superb impersonation of Helen Keller. Kol appeared not to see shit or hear a damn thing! That is, until Klaus grabbed him by the back of his neck and ripped him from her thigh. The hybrid launched his younger brother into the north wall on the far side of the room.

The instant Kol's fangs left her thigh, blood spurted from the artery like lava from an erupting volcano. Klaus tore into his wrist. Before he could offer her the dripping limb, Kol zipped behind him and broke his neck in two different places.

Her top lip quirked. Why the hell did he have to be so extra all the time? "Search all you want, but there is no chance in hell I'd ever drank from Klaus."

"What about Heaven and Earth, Darling? Because it would not bode well for anyone involved if a chance of you drinking from my brother has a clandestine place it dwells," Kol said, giving the Hybrid a kick to the rib for good measure.

"Was such a show of brutality necessary, Kol?" Elijah asked with puckered brows as he glanced over Klaus' crumpled frame.

"About as necessary as him bursting in here without knocking first," She said, while attempting to hold pressure on her erupting thigh.

"Your wails nearly brought down the walls. We feared Kol had lost his way yet again." Elijah's self-righteous glare bore into hers. "For all we knew, you could've been moments away from dying."

"I was dying, you pompous ass," she wheezed as her vision tunneled, "and I was loving every _damn_ minute of it until you all came tearing through the door. You love to flaunt yourself as being so noble, yet you don't know the first thing about politeness or common courtesy."

"Bonnie, no!" Caroline cried, her face becoming a canvas of wrinkles and creases. "Please tell me you weren't gonna…not with Klaus' psycho little brother! Hell, I'd rather you give it another go with Jeremy."

"Jeremy, Care? Really?" Her glare swung to her best friend. "Why would you even…" She shook her head. "Just forget it, because this is neither the time nor place."

"Okay you're right," Caroline said as she bobbed her head in a nod. "Screw baby Gilbert. He never deserved you, but neither does that Original asshole. He's a psycho, Bon-,"

"Stop calling him that, Care!" The lights flickered. "He has a damn name. Use it!"

The corners of Kol's mouth stretched to touch each of his ears. "My word is yours, little love. You will always discover your death in my arms. Even if I have to stab you repeatedly, until we're both drenched in sweat and-,"

" _Kol!"_ Elijah and Rebekah yelled in unison.

"Promises, Promises," she said, attempting to decompress her over inflated inner bitch with mindless banter.

"Something's different about you, Witch," Rebekah said, addressing her for the first time in…ever! "Have you managed to gain yourself a passenger?"

"A who?" She cocked a brow.

The blonde Original took a few steps closer to the bed and ran an appraising glance of over her. "Vyjdi!"

"Bekah!" Kol rolled his eyes toward the ceiling with a sigh that lasted about five seconds too long. "Bonnie doesn't have a passenger, you twit. Now leave so we may talk. There are still events she's not aware of."

Kol impaled his sister with piercing glare that she ignored. Instead, she strutted closer to the bed until she stood over Klaus, gazing down at his body. "Why the devil would you provoke him, you Ass? There will be no peace nor quiet to be found in this house when Nik awakens."

"Be that as it may, Baby Sister. Niklaus was met with the end he so foolishly pursued." Kol stepped over the lifeless hybrid's body. "He had a mind to feed Bonnie from his wrist and I'll not tolerate anyone giving blood to my mate. If she's in need then _I'll_ be the one to provide."

"Your mate?" Bonnie asked, her tone hoarse and vision slightly fuzzy around the edges. "Since when?"

Kol's earnest chocolate colored gaze met hers, "Well it's a subject, I'd planned to discuss in-,"

"Well is it your intent to offer Ms. Bennett your blood or your purpose to allow her to exsanguinate before our eyes, brother?" Elijah's snooty tone demanded.

"My intentions for Bonnie is of no consequence to you or any-,"

"Kol." Bonnie rasped, through gritted teeth as spots began to pepper her vision. She waved a heavy arm over her oozing thigh. "Sorry to interrupt, but do you mind fixing this?"

"Of course." He sat next to her on the bed. "Many apologies, my darling."

Using a nail, Kol sliced open his carotid.

"You're becoming quite the exhibitionist, Kol." Rebekah scoffed. "Are you really going to give the witch your throat…in front of us all? Why not just bloody mount her too?"

"You're all invited to leave, baby sister," he countered without looking at the blonde Original.

"Oh you would just bloody love that wouldn't you?" Rebekah folded her arms across her chest. "I leave and you two may not stumble from this nest of love until next eve. No, Big Brother. I'm not going anywhere. There are plots at play that requires all of my daffy brothers' attentions. Even yours."

Ignoring his sister, Kol leaned across Bonnie's body to offer his neck. Her tongue caressed the roof of her mouth. Her vessels squirmed way beneath the surface of her skin. What the hell was she allowing Kol Mikaelson to do to her? Was it his mission to get her completely strung out on him and have her looking cray in front of his family and her best friend?

The blood that pooled within the jagged edges of the laceration on his neck, distracted her from her thoughts. However, the expressions in the room, ranging from stunned to scandalized, prompted her hesitation.

"Maybe we should do this somewhere more private," she murmured, dropping her forehead to his.

"Give them no regard, Bonnie. There's only you and me. Everyone else is irrelevant," he whispered, before pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth. "Now take me into your lovely body so you may heal yourself."

He then angled his neck with her watering mouth. _Well, if he insisted!_ The last of her reservations jumped out of her head as if her conscience had burst into flames. Free of shame and guilt, her hand fisted in the messy sable colored hair at the back of his head. She brought him closer until her breasts were flattened by the press of his hard chest. Not even a tenth of a second later her mouth latched on to the side of his neck. Moans and growls melded together to produce a symphonic aphrodisiac that would've made Mozart weep and Beethoven break his piano.

"Sweetie, okay that's enough. Much as I hate agreeing with Rebekah…she's right. A vampire tapping a carotid in front of people, is the equivalent of having sex in public," Caroline said, her voice drawing closer.

"Will you just shut it, you bloody prig," Kol snapped as he cradled the nape of Bonnie's neck in the palm of his hand to hold her in place. "Dirty birds like you are all the same. Human or vampire it matters not. You disparage beauties like my little love when they dare take their pleasure wherever it's found. All the while secretly wishing someone despicable will come along and stick their wicked fingers in _your_ knickers. Now be honest, your Vapidness. This is making you just a little randy, now isn't it?"

"Watching you and my best friend mewling louder than a bag of cats is not a turn on for me," Caroline hissed.

In that moment Bonnie knew she should've intervened on Care's behalf, because none of what Kol perceived about her best friend was even remotely true. Caroline just happened to be the classic lady in the streets and let Tyler tell it, an Amazonian/Dominatrix in the sheets. And that's exactly what she would've said if her mouth wasn't full. But since it was there was just no helping her because even if it would stop certain politicians from tweeting, she just couldn't seem to tear her mouth from Kol's neck.

"Save your frigid words, wench." Kol's arm slid around her waist to drag her closer. "The stench of your excitement not only betrays your tongue, but it greatly offends me. My little Love's arousal is the truest scent of desire. To inadvertently inhale the very essence of your remarkably unremarkable core is rather jarring. In fact, it's the equivalent of taking your leave from the kitchen of a gourmet restaurant to step inside an outhouse, which is unquestionably being utilized by humans suffering with dysentery."

Rebekah snorted, while Elijah pretended to cough. A moment later, a slap of heels against marble moved towards the door.

"Since you're removing yourself from our wanton presence, why not drag Nik along with you, sweet Caroline?" Kol's voice wavered when she sank her teeth in his neck to keep the wound open.

Bonnie rolled her eyes when the heels came to a halt. He might as well had flashed red at a bull, because the bull would eventually give up. "You know what? I'm not going anywhere, psy-… _Kol_! Not until I have conversation with Bonnie first. Bet you haven't even told her Abby's in transition."

Caroline's accusation snatched her down from a hellified blood high.

Bonnie wrenched her mouth from its new favorite place to glare at Caroline. _"The hell?"_

"Ugh, I knew it!" A sneer curved her lips as she folded her arms across her chest. "He didn't tell you?"

"I didn't give him a chance," Her gaze sought Kol's. "This is what you wanted to talk about, isn't it?"

"Yes," he admitted, while tracking Care's movements with unblinking eyes. He reminded her of one of those predators lurking in the Bush on National Geographic.

His predatory focus unnerved her so much, she grab his chin to force his gaze back to hers. "Kol, tell me about Abby."

He blinked once, and then twice, before heat seeped back into his cold calculating stare. "She attempted to use her magic while it was still in a volatile state to bring the elder Salvatore to heel, but her powers turned on her."

"And because she had Damon's blood in her system, she's now in transition. Shit," she rested her forehead on his shoulder. "Abby's never gonna turn. She hates vampires."

"You're undoubtedly correct, Ms. Bennett. It's highly unlikely she will," Elijah said, taking a step closer to the bed. "Never in recorded history, has there ever been a Bennett Witch to transition into a Vampire."

Bonnie's head snapped up, ready to pounce. She'd rather be pissing mad than feel utterly helpless. "Yet, you had Damon feed my mother his blood knowing full damn well, she'd rather die than become a vampire?"

Unease slithered across Elijah's features as he took a step back. "To protect myself and siblings from extinction. Surely, you of all people must understand my reasoning, Ms. Bennett?"

"No." She shook her head so hard her neck popped. "The people I ride for have barely even lived one lifetime, while you and your siblings are working on your tenth! There's not that much living in the damn world, Elijah! And it's sure as hell not a good enough explanation or excuse to sentence Abby to your fate!"

"Survival," Elijah said.

Her eyebrows collided. "What?"

"My siblings and I, have survived for over a thousand years, not lived. You see there is a blatant distinction between those two words." Elijah straightened his tie, and then tugged on the cuff of each of his sleeves. "Because of our tyrant of a father, there are many things we have yet to experience. Things you and your imbecilic friends take for granted daily."

"Only because you and your family won't back the hell off," Caroline said, jabbing her finger in Elijah's direction.

The older Original continued speaking like Care hadn't said a damn word. "Why must we sacrifice our existence for you or your mother just because your life span is substantially shorter? For if the value of life was weighed by the lack of number of years one has lived, then your lives has even less significance than that of a fruit fly."

"Well done, brother," Rebekah said, raising her chin, while leveling her and Caroline with an expression fit for a queen who ruled over nothing. "I for one refuse to feel even a pittance of distress over your actions. Had it not been for you, we'd all be commiserating on the other side by now."

"Baby sister, do me a kindness and shut it." Kol craned his neck to glare at Rebekah over his shoulder. "Elijah's fatuous plan would've seen us all to our graves. Had it not been for my wildly talented witch, Fate would've had her arbitrary way with the lot of us."

"You are mistaken, Kol," Elijah said, sending his brother a pointed glare. "You see my plotting served as a catalyst. Had it not been for me-," his sentence screeched to a halt when the smoke that wafted from his tie reached his nostrils. Once aware of the flames devouring the silk material, he slapped at his chest and stomach with an obsession which could only be described as severely devout.

"Had it not been for you, my mom wouldn't be in transition and Kol would've never been daggered." Bonnie wiggled from under the cover of her Original's blessed body. She slid from the bed and held herself with all the justified fury of a young Angela Davis. "Your stupid plots made everything worse."

"Honey, are those granny panties you're wearing?" Caroline gasped. "Wait…why the hell are there ruffles on the back?"

"Never mind the bloomers." Rebekah waved away Care's words with a flapping hand. "What's that bit there?" The blonde Original wagged a finger at Bob Marley and her bikini line. "Is that hair escaping from the crevices of your knickers? And what of that bulge…or you undergoing a transition of your own, witch?"

"Stay back, sister," Elijah said, his face more animated than she'd ever seen. "That growler most certainly has teeth."

"Careful, brother," Kol seethed through the clench of his teeth. "Or we'll see how well you blunder around your blessed eternity once I separate your head from your shoulders."

"Bon," Caroline's hand flew to cover her open mouth. "When's the last time you visited Madam Sasha for the Brazilian?"

"It's been a couple of years, Care," she said, trying tug her t-shirt over her underwear. "Every week there's someone new who wants to kill Elena."

"Then you should leave the young doppelganger to her fate. Your undercarriage is in dire need of renovation and landscaping, Ms. Bennett," Elijah had the damn nerve to say and an even bigger nerve to laugh.

Genuine amusement actually glittered in his eyes and his delight pissed her off! She jabbed a finger at the older Original and the hem of his pants began to smolder. Elijah's laughter morphed into cries of distress as he danced around the room kicking out his legs and shaking each limb in attempts to staunch the flames.

Unmoved by his ridiculous parade, her hand shot over head. "I've had it up to here and beyond with all of your double dealing and switch out ways. So I'm putting your, wanna be honorable, ass on notice. The next time you cross me will be the last time you cross anybody. Even if I have to binge watch every single episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to find the creative drive I need to end your over expired ass, I will."

"Honey, you may wanna find another show to reference. Things didn't end so well for Buffy-," Caroline began.

"That's sooo not the point, Care," she snapped.

The blonde vampire raised her hands and mouthed, "Sorry."

Kol stepped behind her and dropped the comforter on her shoulders. "Who's Buffy?"

"I'll explain later," she said, placing a hand on his. "Now, I should probably check on Abby. Where is she?"

"I placed her in the room down the hall," Elijah said with a scorched tie in hand and the temptation to kill present and accounted for in his nut brown eyes.

She dismissed the older Original without sparing him another glance or word. "Care, do you mind going to my house and picking me up a change-,"

"Done," the blonde said, patting the overnight bag hanging from her arm. "Abby's still sleeping, so you can shower, change, and maybe even _shave_ before she wakes up."

"Go on." Kol gave her a nudge towards the door. "There are restroom accommodations where she's staying. Take whatever time is needed to say your goodbyes." When she turned to walk towards the door, his fingers tangled with hers to hold her in place. "Know also I'm here for anything you may require. All you need do is ask, little Love."

A vision of him sitting behind a piano burst to life in the walls of her mind. He sang to her the most beautifully ridiculous song she'd ever heard, while everyone they cared about looked on just as enthralled by him as her. When her third eye strained to make out details, the brilliant flash of colors and light began to fade until eventually only dense blackness remained. Afterwards, she stood there for a moment attempting to retrigger the premonition, but her third eye refused to give her another glimpse.

"My darling?" Kol rested the palms of his hand on her cheeks. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Bonnie stood on the tips of her toes to brush her lips against his before murmuring, "thank you." _For everything now and to come_ …she silently added.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. And to add unfairness to poetic injustice, neither does the shows nor books. However, I still intend to pull the character strings to make them dance as I see fit, all while having a ball upsetting canon plot lines!

"Mother, we must flee," Finn said as he paced the expanse of the nearly inhabitable room of an unseemly inn they discovered a few hours outside of Mystic Falls. "Niklaus will relieve you of your heart yet again if he comes upon us. We mustn't be cavalier with your life, not before you do the Bennett Witch's bidding. I fear your standing with them will likely shift if you die before fulfilling your purpose."

Esther removed the cool scrap of linen from her eyes to give her eldest son a reassuring stare. "Be at ease, my child. Your bastard of a brother may have thwarted my plans, but I anticipated there would be a few convexities along the way and have safe guarded against those curves and turns accordingly."

"But the link to the Bennett Witch's magic is broken, mother!" Finn halted pacing to meet her gaze.

"Yes." The corners of his mother's mouth travelled south as she heaved herself in a sitting position. "It would seem your brother and his treacherous witch has bested me in that regard. However, it matters not. For my will is strong and I shall have my way. Moreover, there are a multitude of approaches to consider when endeavoring to launder a skunk. Spirit magic may be the most revered and respected sorcery by witches and warlocks alike, but it is by no means the strongest."

"Mother, you led me to believe, Bennett Magic was the only magic potent enough to undo the vampirism spell and return us to our normal human state," he said, drifting closer to the bed.

"Indeed." She nodded, while keeping him locked in her calculating gaze. "And that statement still holds true, my child."

"Then forgive my daftness, Mother. For I still do not understand."

She lifted a hand to wave away his words. "Your apology is unwarranted and certainly not sought out, Finn. Please be assured, your reasoning is as sharp as ever, you only require a few more pieces to accurately interpret the puzzle."

"Well I implore of you to divulge those missing fragments so that I may properly assist you in the extermination of my siblings, mother," he said, kneeling beside the bed to take her hand in his.

His mother stared at him for a moment as if silently debating on whether to impart upon him the outline of her scheme in its entirety or to continue giving him enough bits to maintain his utility. When resolution relaxed her features, he exhaled his relief.

"I created a contingency plan, in the event I failed to restore you and your siblings' humanity," she admitted, giving his hand a gentle pat.

"What manner of plan is it you speak of, mother?"

"It involves Rebekah's history teacher," she admitted as slyness glinted her eyes. "You see Emily Bennett created a ring for Elena Gilbert's ancestor, which granted him amnesty against death by supernatural means. In a sheer winding of fate, the ring found itself in the possession of the teacher."

"Are there no limitations to those witches' magic?" He snapped. He'd had quite enough of the Bennett Witches and their superiority complex.

"You're missing the point, my boy," she chided.

"Many apologies, mother. Please, go on."

"The ring may deceive death, but the wearer still must brave the other side in search of their body. During which time, their sub-conscious mind is exposed and easily manipulated." Esther paused to run a critical gaze over his face. "Over the last three centuries I've attempted to condition the bearers of the ring into a hunter, which would rival and prevail over even your father," she shook her head and threw up her hands, "but alas after laboring with Jonathan and Samantha Gilbert I came to suspect the entire Gilbert line suffered with soft brains and lacked impulse control. It wasn't until later, when I met Elena that my suspicions were confirmed."

"Yes, yes," Finn bobbed his head in agreement, hoping to hurry her along, "she is quite the strumpet."

"The nerve of her," she clucked her tongue in disapproval, "showing up to my ball with those two abominations on each of her arms. Why, I never even invited those moronic chaps."

Finn suspected his mother of drawing ever closer to her soapbox, which simply wouldn't do. She be on top of the damned thing all night if he dared to indulge her. "Tell me more of this Gilbert ring, mother."

"Right," she gave him a smile with another pat on the cheek. "As I was saying. After learning of the Gilbert line's shortcomings I feared I'd have to abandon the plot altogether. So imagine the sense of fortune I experienced when I met the drunken but capable Alaric Saltzman. Record my words, Finn. He will be the antidote to the plague I wrought on the world over a thousand years ago. In the name of principle, he has already begun to cleanse that so called Founder's Council of vampire sympathizers and enablers."

"So he's the one responsible for the slaughter of innocents. I assumed it was Kol," Finn muttered to himself.

Esther swung her legs off the bed. "They were not innocent. Do you not comprehend, my child? Those so called innocents are traitors to the human race. Their actions allowed for the actual fallen innocents of Mystic Falls to go unavenged for centuries." Her crazed eyes bore into his. "The deeds they've repeatedly committed has rendered them no better than the vile creatures they have chosen on countless occasions to protect. Now their time of reckoning is upon them, may the spirits have no mercy on their tainted souls."

"Mother," Finn forced through stiff lips and clenched teeth. The last thing he desired to do was mince words with his mother when she very well may have taken leave of her senses during her thousand years of penance in supernatural purgatory. "Do you truly presume a human, no matter how capable you perceive him of being, is resilient enough to take on my siblings?"

Esther tsked, while staring at him as if he were the one not long for Bedlams. "Why of course not, that's complete lunacy. Do you believe me to be a hollow headed simpleton? The only way that shiftless drunkard will stand victorious against _my_ children is if I turn him into the very thing he hunts."

"Why you can't mean-,"

"Yes I do mean." A chill crept down his spine from the iciness which lay claim to Esther's wild-eyed gaze. "For it's the only recourse I have to bring a conclusion to those despicable whelps who clawed their way from my loins!"

"Mother, I beg of you to reconsider this course of action. There is no sense to be found in your reasoning," Finn argued.

Esther shot from her perch on the bed to tower over him. "Why there is loads of logic to be found in my line of thinking. You just have to withdraw your head from my arse and acknowledge it for yourself."

"Mother!"

"Do not _dare_ to-,"

He climbed to his feet. "The proximity of my head has no relevance on my judgement in regards to your preposterous scheme."

"PREPOSTEROUS-,"

"Yes preposterous, madam! For even if you are successful in your endeavors to create another Original abomination, without a white oak stake what will be the sodding point of HIM?!" Finn clenched his fists at his sides to prevent himself from strangling the daft version of his _'beloved'_ mother who now teetered a very fine line between insanity and incompetency.

Esther folded her arms across her chest, and then smiled at him with a smile conceived from arrogance and malice. "The faith you have in me is quite disappointing, my favored son. Do you really believe me capable of committing another affront against nature without reason or conditions in place to govern said creature's actions?"

"Unfortunately, I do." Finn nodded as he strived not to buckle under the weight of his resentment. "Mother, you were there when father forced us to burn the last white oak tree in existence."

"But, neither your father, siblings, nor you were present when I entrusted Ayana with a single sapling from the very same tree." She lifted her chin to glower down her nose at him. "So do you still think me mad?"

"Yes, mother. The unspeakable verity is, you are no longer of a sound mind. And I must beseech you once more not to go through with this inane plan," he answered honestly, while stepping forward to take hold of her hands.

She yanked her appendages from his grasp. "Unhand me you, sniveling cur. Who in bloody blazes do you think you are to question my mental stability, when not even two hours pass you were more than willing to introduce your heart to the point of my blade?"

"I'll be taking my leave now, madam." He whirled around and stalked towards the door.

"And not a second too soon," She yelled, while tossing clothing and shoes at his back. "For a moment I actually feared you had a mind to mount me."

Finn gawked, before rage nearly narrowed his eyes to close lid proportions. "You'd do well to remember I am the sole keeper of _all_ your secrets, Madam." He wrenched the door open.

"Finn, wait." Esther's despondent cry stalled his feet and pricked at his conscience. He craned his neck to gaze at her over his shoulder. "Do you mind compelling the nice gentleman at the desk in the…" she waved her hand around as she searched for the correct word. She snapped her fingers. "Ah, window. The gentleman in the _window_. Be a noble boy and compel that nice man into believing I paid for the month, before your departure? It's just…I'm without means and the credit cards Niklaus gave me could very well-,"

Finn slammed the door on his mother's incessant blathering. He was quite done obsessing over her security and comfort. Mount her indeed! He'd rather castrate himself than even entertain such a thought. The only reason he'd dogged her steps so closely since her return was because she promised to restore their humanity. That was to be his bloody second chance at a life free of the dagger and coffin. For he had absolutely no intention of allowing his mother to sacrifice him to assuage the Bennett Bitch Coven on the other side.

Alas, he should've known Esther would find a way to muck it all up. If his siblings weren't so damned tenacious ninety-five percent of the time, he'd be reacquainting himself with his human sensibilities at that very moment. Oh sodding well. There was only two things to be done when a pail of milk doused the hay. Sweep away the mess, and then take hold of another tit.

* * *

The first thing Bonnie noticed about Abby upon entering the guest room was the brazen change to her aura. Instead of her mother's normal lemon yellow hue, indigo blue now swathed her dead frame. Due to the severity of the situation, the color more than fit the occasion and matched her darkening mood. Over the past couple of years, death had targeted her inner circle and began firing shots indiscriminately. No one involved with her or her friends were off limits. The fact Abby had to learn this truth the hard way, killed Bonnie way softer than she deserved.

Movement on the queen size mattress tore Bonnie from her, alcohol inspiring, thoughts. Her focus flew to Abby who now sat up and glanced around the room with a frown, when her eyes landed on Bonnie, they slightly flared.

"Did I get him?" Abby demanded.

Too stunned to respond, all Bonnie could do was stare with eyes that bulged and a mouth, which refused to close. The woman on the bed still had characteristics of her mother, but while dead, Abby had undergone a transformation even the most skilled of plastic surgeons would be stumped to achieve. From the rich mocha waves that fell pass her mother's shoulders in abundance to her now shades darker copper brown skin tone, every nuance of Abby was a slight embellishment on the original version of her.

"Well?" Abby's frown deepened. "Please tell me, I was able to pop that fucker's head clean off his damn shoulders."

Bonnie's head swung from side to side as she tried to hurdle over her shock, while also attempting to pick up her chin off the floor. "Abby, Damon is fine. You managed to snap his and Stefan's neck, but I'm more than positive they've already recovered by now."

"Ah, hell!" Irritation tightened the corners of her eyes. "Well go get me a bottle of red so I can raise a damn glass to missed opportunities and second chances."

"I'm on it," Caroline said, from her post in the doorway.

"Better make it a good year, too." Abby ran another assessing glance over the contents of the room. "Something tells me our host has quite the collection."

When Care hesitated, Bonnie gave her a nod, which the blonde vampire returned before leaving. Soon as the room door clicked closed, her focus shifted back to her mother, who now wandered around the room wiggling her arms and winding her body.

Abby stretched her neck, while swinging her head in different directions. "Something feels off."

"That's because you're in transition," she replied, foregoing the sugar coating. "When you tried to finish Damon, your magic turned on you."

"Humph." Her mother's lips writhed into a smile. "Always knew it would happen one day. The moment my powers began to go dark, I knew it was just a matter of time." Abby's guarded eyes skipped to her. "Guess you already know I won't complete the transition, huh?"

She folded her arms across her chest and relaxed her face to rob all emotions from her features. "I'm aware."

Abby nodded, before continuing her trek around the room. "Has anyone called Jamie?"

"Care spoke with him a couple of hours ago. He's on his way," she answered, determined not to feel a way about her absentee mother's concern for the son she'd chosen over a daughter. "Abby, why did you pretend not to have any magic, when—with all BS to the left—you're one of the most powerful witches I've ever seen, and that's including Grams and our cousin Lucy?"

"How can you even ask me that after what you witnessed the night before?" Abby stopped her aimless movement to turn and face her. "My magic almost ended you, Bonnie B. I'll not put up with anyone or anything that means to harm you. Even if…especially if, that very _thing_ is a part of me."

Unprovoked dormant anger roared through her veins and took possession of her tongue. "Wow, Abby. Where the hell was all this over-protectiveness when I fell out of Elena and Jeremy's tree house and broke my collar bone and had to be rushed into surgery when I was five? Or what about the time-,"

"Waiting room C, listening to a nurse named Shayla bitch about her schedule and unset days off. By the time you made it out of surgery and the doctor came to update us, I was about ready to hex the evil bastard in charge of staffing for that unit." Abby waved a hand at her. "Go ahead, ask me another."

Uncertainty somewhat dampened Bonnie's anger. "What about the recital I danced my first-,"

"Eighth row, aisle seat," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "You were Belle from Beauty and the Beast. You wore a yellow tu-tu with a matching ribbon in your hair, and you danced to the song, Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson recorded for the movie. Three quarters into the dance you lost your ribbon, but you never missed damn step. Your execution was flawless, Bonnie B."

Her vision blurred. "You were there?"

"For every single moment that mattered most to you, while crying oceans over all the other ordinary moments I didn't get have, but still meant everything to me." Tears brimmed Abby's lower lids as her words left her mouth thick and broken under the weight of all her unresolved emotions.

"Then why did you stay away?" She asked more hurt than angry.

"After desiccating Mikael, my power became infected with darkness," Abby said, before turning to go perch on the foot of the bed. "When I contacted your Grams for help, she told me the spirits had already warned her about my problem and there was nothing she could do for me other than give me several names of witch doctors and a few Voodoo priestesses who specialized in cleansing darkness from magical essences."

"But none of them could help you," she stated, knowing if they were able to help Abby her childhood would not have been plagued with TV dinners and reruns of the Cosby show.

Abby's glare swung to her feet, while her nails dug into the mattress and comforter. "Three died, two lost their magic, and four lost their minds. After the third practitioner died, I stopped trying. I couldn't risk my powers harming anyone else."

"Well something had to have changed, because you're here now with your magic still intact," she said, swiping wet trails from her face with the back of her hands.

"Your, Grams." Abby gave her a sideways glance. "She gave me a message from the spirits when I came to town for your seventeenth birthday. It was the night she told you about being a witch."

"So you were there when she slurred her way through the big reveal?" She asked with an arched brow.

"Lil' girl, please." Abby coughed out a hoarse laugh that sounded more like a bark. "You were late, but the Merlot was chilled and on damn time."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, but couldn't suppress the small grin from peeking through. "What did the Spirits want you to know?"

"You would soon come to me needing my help, and only then would it be safe for me to reenter your life." Abby shrugged. "And so here we are, I'm dying and you're stuck in vampire country with no one to watch your back."

"You don't have to choose to die, Abby," Caroline said as she reentered the room with a bottle of wine tucked under her arm and a long stemmed crystal glass in each hand. One was filled almost to the rim with a thick fluid identical in color to the red wine Abby loved, but with the same consistency as blood. "I can help if you choose to complete the transition."

Abby gave Caroline the being polite to a stranger smile. "No thank you, Caroline. I'd rather be dead than undead. Sorry if that offends you."

"No," Care said, as she placed an empty glass on the night stand. She took a sip from the full glass, and then sat it down next to the empty one. "None of this is about me. I get it. Other people? Not so much." The blonde's sky blue gaze found hers. "Elena's waiting for you in the foyer."

Bonnie's eyes crossed as she released a long drawn out sigh. "Can you let her know I'm spending time with Abby and I'll text her tomorrow."

"Elena _knows_ Abby's in transition, and doesn't care. She's refusing to leave until…" Caroline's index fingers wiggled to form quotation marks, "and I quote…you come downstairs and face her."

Bonnie's face scrunched. " _The hell_?"

"Humph." Abby smirked as she held out the empty glass to Caroline. "Go ahead and have words with your so called best friend. I'll be right here when you come back."

After filling the wine goblet, the blonde vampire placed it back on the night stand. "I wouldn't test it by holding my breath. Elena's pissed and you know how she loves to hear herself talk when she's attempting to make a point."

"Well, I hope she has her shit together, because she's only getting five minutes out of me," she said, while heading for the door.

Bonnie heard the scraping of Crystal against marble as Caroline snatched a glass from the night table. "I'd better come too, in case you need a referee."

* * *

A smile quirked the corner of Niklaus' mouth upon hearing the unmistakable crunch of bone after delivering a well-placed kick to his baby brother's ribs. Without allowing a pittance of time for recovery, Klaus snatched Kol by the neck from the pile of petrified wood that only moments before had functioned as a coffee table. As the younger Original dangled from his grip bloody and broken, a notion crept across Niklaus' mind. Maybe his little brother had his fill. Just maybe the petulant little sod had learned his lesson, but then the Bennett witch's scent invaded his nostrils, and then the error of his contemplations convicted him. He would be doing a disservice if he concluded Kol's tutelage prematurely. Especially when he had additional wisdom to impart.

A snarl ripped itself from the back of his throat. The little witch's fragrance seeping from his sibling's body offended him. How dare that bloody temptress offer her fiery life force to _Kol_? Didn't she know, every single drop of blood in her ridiculous curvy little frame was his to eventually drain? He threw his insolent brother across the room. At vamp speed the hybrid followed the soaring body, and kicked Kol once again before his body had a chance to collide with the marbled floor.

The door to his study swung open. Rebekah and Elijah waltzed in as Kol hurtled into an antique Chippendale liquor cabinet.

"So you're still at it, then?" Rebekah asked as a look of annoyance flirted with her impassive expression.

"I may be a while, yet," Klaus said, ripping a leg from the cabinet. He then proceeded to beat his baby brother with the solid wood. "Is there something you require of me, Rebekah?" He inquired between blows.

"Yes, Nik." She flounced further into the study. "For the sake of your continued survival there very well is something I require of you."

"Well out with it then, baby sister. My arm grows weary and I'm afraid the deconstruction of our errant brother's miseducation may monopolize my entire morning," He said driving the mahogany wooden leg into Kol's chest, intentionally missing his heart. Working his arm in tiny circles, he regarded Elijah and Rebekah through narrowed eyes. "You have five minutes."

Rebekah's eyes flashed a warning that her mood had begun to move beyond the borders of mild annoyance into the realm of passionate infuriation. She took a deep breath, and then spoke, "Nik, I'd enjoy nothing more than to see you thrash the devil out of Kol. Especially, after he sliced open his carotid and gave the witch his throat in front of us all, but-,"

"Many apologies, baby sister," he ground out, before rounding on Kol to yank the table leg from his little brother's chest only to find it buried deep within his own rib cage.

Mischief and malice burned together in Kol's heated gaze to form a hell bred blaze. "Your hostility is quite telling, Nik." Klaus found himself being lifted from the ground by the makeshift stake protruding from his body. "Edify me, brother. Is it truly vengeance you seek out or is there something more you covet?" With a show of vampire speed and strength, Kol drove the wooden table leg into the nearest wall with him still attached.

"Kol," Rebekah managed between snorts, "what a captivating portrait of, Nik. Why, it's so life like. Look how the rage practically leaps from his eyes. Kudos, brother."

"Thank you, little sister." Kol preened. "You know I went back and forth on the title. I had a mind to call it, 'There's a Tiny Tally-whacker in my Knickers,' but that seemed too obvious."

"Ah, yes," Rebekah chortled. "Everyone is well aware of Scary Mary's slanderous tittle-tattles about a certain _short_ coming in Nik's anatomy."

"Lies," he roared from his captivity on the study wall.

"Not to mention his predilection for wearing women's under garments," Kol continued as if Klaus hadn't uttered a word.

"It was only the one time," He argued. His gaze flicked to his eldest brother. "Bear witness, brother. Tell them of how William adamantly refused to allow me to take to the stage as Juliet if I persisted in declining to adorn the costumes in their entirety."

"Yes, brother," Elijah said, while sliding a hand in the front pocket of his trousers, and then lifting his chin to stare down his nose at him, "but I never understood why you didn't just compel the drunken writer the moment he spurned your attempts to portray the male lead and was even more confounded when you willingly, if not, happily accepted the part of the insipid female youth who embraced death, simply because she didn't have the sagacity or foresight to deduce a shoddy plot line."

"I told you, he couldn't be compelled!" He growled.

"Really?" Kol clasped his hands behind his back, while raising a mocking brow. "Because I found him quite amenable to compulsion." A revealing smirk twisted his younger brother's mouth.

Luminosity shined a glaring light on Kol's past transgressions. _Why that little son of a slag!_ Striking crimson overrode the color pattern in Klaus' field of vision as rage unhinged its jaw and devoured him whole. " _Kol,_ you will languish in a box for centuries this time-,"

"Enough, Niklaus," Elijah implored in a slightly elevated tone. "You will have to postpone that threat and such others for the time being. Right now, our sister would like to show us something quite troubling she found in the cave we secreted ourselves in during the full moon when we were human."

"Elijah, I have no desires to hear how our tart of a sister found calcified drops of her tattered virtue on a cavern floor," he declared as he wiggled from side to side in attempts to free himself from his wooden restraint. "Once I'm liberated from my current predicament I plan to dedicate all of my creativity to finding innovative torture techniques to utilize on our baby brother."

"Well, I hope your endeavors is not too time consuming, big brother," Rebekah said in a cold voice, which paid tribute to Esther's signature icy calm. She raised her cellular phone until the screen was eye level with his face. "Because should our enemies gain possession of the one thing that can kill us, then our days will most assuredly be numbered."

Klaus' eyes narrowed as he glared at the phone. On the screen he saw a crude picture drawn on a cave wall. The photo illustrated natives dancing and worshiping around the symbol for the white oak tree. This would've been all fine and well, if the picture hadn't been depicted hundreds of years after the first and only white oak tree had burned to ash.

"What is this?" Klaus seethed through clenched teeth.

Kol snatched the phone from Rebekah's grasp. "What the hell is she on about, Elijah?"

"It appears there is another White Oak tree," Elijah answered, not feeling obliged to squander words.

"How's this possible, Nik?" Kol demanded.

Klaus' face dissolve in black veins and amber eyes, before reaching down and tearing the table leg from the wall and essentially his rib cage. He landed on the marbled floor with ease. "Our mother has proven herself to be quite adept with schemes and the alphabet. Looks as if mother doesn't mean to spend any substantial length of time nursing her failures. It will serve us well to be ready, mother's plan B is revealed."

* * *

As Bonnie descended the stairs, she caught sight of Elena standing in a wide leg stance, hands on hips, while fury stiffened every muscle in her dirty smudged face. Muddy strands of hair fell pass her shoulders in unyielding clumps. Her clothes hung from her thin body in torn ripped to hell shreds, covered in stains that ranged from rust red to a very suspicious brown. It would seem Daisy had defended and maintained her title against everyone's favorite doppelganger. If not for the two Salvatore brother's flanking the brunette, Bonnie would've laughed. Instead, she was— _hell hath no fury_ —pissed.

Yeah, she knew Damon and Stefan had nothing to do with Abby's soon to be death, but they weren't exactly innocent of the way things played out either. So for the sake of keeping both of their asses' fire free, the Salvatores should've found directions to somewhere far away from her current destination. Yet, here they parlayed with their heads wedged so far up Elena's ass, each brother failed to realize they now stood within sparking distance.

Bonnie's feet had barely touched the marbled floor of the foyer, before Elena went in like Gotti. "You know, all the way over here I prayed Damon and Stefan were wrong. That you didn't stand shoulder to shoulder with Klaus and my kidnapper, fighting to save their Hybrid and Original's asses tonight."

"Leaving you to be violated by Daisy," Damon added with a condemning sneer. "She floated in Wilkes' filthy pond for hours to stop herself from being trampled by the mother of all mad cows."

"She could've drowned, Bonnie," Stefan said, while actually having the audacity to serve her up a look of reproach. "I'm not judging. I'm just saying."

As if he could judge any damn thing. Didn't he just hoist himself back on the wagon not even five minutes ago?

The brunette nodded in agreement with her vamp playmates as she attempted to shame Bonnie with her wide doe eyes. When the witch didn't so much as blink, Elena exhaled her frustration and continued. "Even when Care answered the door and confirmed you were actually inside of this house, I wanted to believe your being here was all a part of some diabolical, Bonnie Bennett, plan. Kinda like the scheme, when you allowed me to think you were dead. Watching you die is still tattooed across my fucking skull, by the way, so thanks for that!"

"Huh!" Damon snorted. "You should've known better, Elena. I was the puppet master of that scheme. All Bennett did was dance around on strings and collapse on command. The witch would be ashes if not for me."

"The plan was dangerous, Damon," Stefan interjected. "Bonnie was almost killed and even worse, Elena could've died too."

"I miss void Stefan." Damon face folded into a pout. "I'm afraid humanity just doesn't agree with you, Brother."

Elena rolled her eyes, hell twisted on being heard. " _But,_ it wasn't until I watched you traipse down the stairs like you freaking owned the place, did my beliefs turned to rot. Exactly, what the hell are you playing at, Bonnie? How could you allow Abby to hurt Damon and Stefan? How could you just stand by and do nothing?"

"Aw, Elena you're so adorable when you're being clueless. It doesn't take Plato or Socrates to figure this out," Damon said as he waved a hand at her. "Mikaelson's compelling her."

"Who? Klaus?" Stefan asked as a frown crumpled his face.

"No the serial killer one," Damon said, snapping his fingers. "You know…the one she's hot for."

"Maybe you're right, Damon." Elena's eyes flared as if Damon had just revealed the meaning of life, before retraining her gaze on Bonnie. "Can you stand there and absolutely say you're a hundred percent certain you haven't been compelled by Klaus' brother? Because to be honest, I don't even recognize you right now, Bon."

"Elena, you're being a real-," Caroline began.

Bonnie raised a hand to slay Care's inevitable read, while locking eyes with Elena. "Are you done?"

"Until I hear your explanation," The brunette said with a raised chin, while working her Wonder Woman stance for all it was worth, which happened to be pretty damn worthless from Bonnie's view point.

Bonnie gave Elena a nod. As much as she wanted to step down on her best friend's level and clap the hell back, she didn't have the time or inclination. Abby's reanimation was strapped to a countdown clock and she refused to waste her mother's last moments going back and forth with Elena's misguided ass. Determined to keep it classy, she decided to give the doppelganger and her interchangeable boy vamps a hard pass on their recklessness. Without a word uttered, she spun on her heel to head back upstairs.

A few steps up, an amber crystal vase sailed pass her, barely missing her head. The crystal clipped Caroline's shoulder, and then crashed into a portrait of the Original family, shattering on impact. Bonnie froze mid-step. _She knew like hell this bitch didn't just try it!_ She whirled around to find Damon wearing a, I'm the head vamp in charge, smirk as Elena gawked at him with both hands covering her mouth, while Stefan looked like he'd rather be hunting bunnies in the great wide open than treading water in a glorified shark tank.

"What?" Damon sneered at Elena and his younger brother. "She was leaving, now she's not. You're welcome."

Bonnie reversed directions and marched back down stairs. _Fuck hard passes!_ "You wanna know what my issues are, Elena?"

"Yes," Elena said, taking a step back when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Aside from your two vamp entourage, exhaustion," She answered as she continued to advance on the brunette. "Every time I open my door, answer my phone, or even check my damn text messages, I'm bombarded by fifty-eleven different ways of how your doppelganger ass has found its way into yet another sling."

"She doesn't even have time to get waxed," Caroline snapped, while stabbing Elena with glares sharper than a katana blade.

"Thanks, Care," Bonnie said, praying Caroline would shut it down.

"Wait a damn-," Elena began.

"Then I have to press pause on whatever I have going on-,"

"Like waxing. You know she hasn't been to Madam Sasha in two years?" Caroline questioned, her voice dripping with straight up attitude.

"Yet, her undercarriage still remains a global treasure," Kol's voice floated down to them from the top of the staircase.

"What the bloody hell happened to my vase?" Klaus barked as he crouched down to pick up the shattered crystal pieces. "Which one of you hillbillies will be selling your homes and cars to replace this?"

Ignoring Klaus, Bonnie winked at Kol. "Thanks, Babe. And thanks to you too, Care. But, I have this." Her gaze then swung to Elena and turned to ice on impact. "As I was saying, then I have to press pause on whatever I have going on to, A: come save your ass or," she waved a hand at the Salvatore brothers, "B: clean up their mess and still save your ass. And that's cool because I'm your girl, we go hard for each other and when shit gets real we go even harder. We've been doing it since the sand box days, but about two years ago when dumb and dumber came to town things changed. Your priorities shifted and I ended up buried under the Salvatores. The only time you dig me out is when you or they need a spell or a save."

"Bonnie, that's not true," Elena countered. "Riding or walking, I'm still the one you can call when you need help moving a body or to be a look out while you toss a brick through a cheating boyfriend's windshield."

"Elena, please," Bonnie said, waving her words back at her. "Jeremy's windshield is still intact."

The doppelganger's mouth flew open in indignation. "Jeremy doesn't have a car, Bonnie!"

"Yeah?" Bonnie questioned with a quirk in her top lip. "Then who car was he driving when I caught him at the cemetery visiting Ana, Elena?"

"Bonnie that was my car," Elena argued.

"Oh, so now you're condoning his actions?" Bonnie asked, shaking her head, while feeling real petty. "I can't believe you'd actually lend him your car so he could make plans with the next chick. But you have my back, though. The hell ever!"

"That's not true. Jeremy hasn't had contact with Ana in months. Not since you and your grams put the veil back up," Elena explained. "He just went to the cemetery to lay flowers on Vicky's grave and say his goodbyes to Ana before he left town. I'm still here for you Bonnie. You and Care are my best friends. I'd never put anyone before you guys. Not even Stefan and Damon."

"Really, Lena?" Her neck snapped back like she'd been sucker punched by Mayweather. "Not two minutes ago, you called yourself stepping down on me for allowing my mother to harm your indestructible vampires. Never mind the fact Abby will soon be dead because she's refusing to transition, or-,"

"Wait, Abby's refusing to transition?" Elena asked stunned.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Did you actually believe Abby would willingly choose to become the very thing she hates? She'd spend all of eternity dying before she allowed that to happen."

"Bonnie, I'm sorry," Elena said with wide glassy eyes. "I didn't know-,"

"Well did _you know_ about your boyfriends' plan to turn either me or Abby in order to save _your_ life?" She asked, purposefully cutting Elena off to regurgitate all the foul things she had to swallow over the last twenty-four hours.

"Under Elijah's order!" Elena spat back. "If you want someone to blame about Abby's death, blame him. None of this would've happened if he hadn't kidnapped me right off my doorstep."

"Kidnapped?" Elijah questioned from his place at the top of the stairs. "Ms. Gilbert, let's not overlook the detail, _you_ were the one who requested _my_ presence on _your_ doorstep. It was your intent to…" An arrogant grin curved his arrogant mouth. "Thank me."

"And did she brother," Kol smirked from his perch on the top step, "thank you?"

A full blown smile graced the older Original's lips. "Repeatedly, brother."

"Gads," Rebekah cried out, tearing her assessing gaze from the ruined family portrait to glare at Elijah. "No wonder you reek of her. I feared you'd slaughtered one of Niklaus' prized hybrids. They stink of her as well. I always believed it was because they had her blood coursing through their veins, but could it be the doppelsket actually allowed Nik's randy mutts to get a leg over too?"

Damon and Stefan growled in unison.

"Never mind the doppelganger's affinity for promiscuity. I'll not repeat myself again. Now, which one of you magnificent bastards will be reimbursing me for the Daum?" Klaus demanded holding up remnants of the amber crystal vase.

"Oh. My. Gods! You and Elijah? Mama needs a drink," Caroline uttered before bringing the wine goblet to her mouth. When the fluid crossed her lips her eyes bulged. "OOH, SHIT!"

Bonnie turned on Caroline. "And don't think I've forgotten your little part in setting Kol up to be daggered."

"This is wine," Caroline said, raising her glass to Bonnie to stress her point.

Bonnie ignored her babbling, refusing to let her jump topics. "I expect for Damon and even Stefan to go behind my back, but not you too, Care."

"Um, first of all I didn't go behind your back," Caroline said, getting close enough to stare her right in the eyes. "Second of all, this is wine, Sweetie."

"Who gives a-," Bonnie started.

Care severed her sentence with, "This is wine, and _NOT_ …"

"Okay we comprehend, you bloody lush of a cow," Kol snapped as he glowered down at Caroline. "You're a sodding boozer with an unrefined palate. I'm aware that Nik's spirits collection can be quite life altering, but do try and censor yourself."

Caroline skewered Kol with a demon inspired scowl before returning her gaze back to Bonnie.

Common sense and context clues attacked her from all sides. "That's wine."

"This is wine." Caroline nodded. Her face stretched taut by the gravity of the situation. " _NOT_ …"

"That's wine not…blood." Bonnie finished in a whisper, before taking off at a sprint up the stairs. " _ABBY_!" She screamed as she went.

Several seconds to a minute later Bonnie and umpteen vampires arrived at the open door to the room Abby was staying, in time to see her drain the last of the dark red fluid in her goblet.

"What?" She snapped, when she noticed them in the doorway gawking at her. "Can't a witch get drunk and die in peace without being stalked to the grave by nosey ass vampires?"

As the black veins writhed under Abby's unnaturally midnight blue eyes, an exaggerated sigh crept from Bonnie's stiff lips. "Well isn't this some unholy fuckery!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Caution...Raunchy Saggy Nasty Lemons Ahead (Involving Esther and OC Last excerpt) If You're Not Interested Then I Hope To Catch You Next Update** 
> 
> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me, but it is my intent to pull their strings and make them dance as I see fit!

Kol watched his witch perform the spell which would allow her mother to walk freely in the sun. She was breath stoppingly beautiful and even though he could barely tear his ravenous gaze from her enticing face and appetizing person, his thoughts were scattered. His contemplations dissected all of the events which occurred since Abby's inadvertent transition. It was the transition which launched a thousand mocks, and rightly so in his opinion. The elder Bennett Witch's claim to have mistaken wine for blood made a mockery of common sense.

The Mystic Falls' dim-wits referred to Abby's conversion as Transition-Gate, while Nik's blonde dumbshell titled the incident as an accident. What a stupid cow! Accident his arse! He absolutely refused to believe the elder Bennett Witch's departure from nature to be an honest mistake. Humans in the middle of transition had a heightened sense of smell. There's no way the undead—transitioned or not—would ever confuse blood for wine. The implication was nonsensical.

Abby's birth into vampirism was by far the strangest conversions he'd ever encountered. Not because of the blood and wine debacle. No, the most disturbing detail of all was the blood utilized to transition his witch's mother. Niklaus' blood! Never since he and his siblings began to sire vampires, has there ever been an occasion when a human's luscious red was unneeded to bridge the way from the in between of life and death to the state of being undead. None of the factors of that night spun even remotely close to the realm of possibilities.

Although he maintained silence and remained ever vigilant throughout the entire ordeal, he was far from unmoved by the experience. In undiluted truth, he was decidedly concerned by Abby's unprecedented transition from Bennett Witch to Bennett Vampire. None of her characteristics were that of an infantile vampire. She held control where there should've been untamed abandon. Instead of clawing at her eyes and ears due to the recent enhancing of her senses, the former Bennett Witch went about her daily cycle unchanged.

On various occasions Kol found Abby sitting on the veranda swing quietly reading a grimoire or in the cooking area tutoring his eternal mate on the fundamentals of concocting potions. He'd once even stumbled upon her sitting with her surrogate son, eating kernels of popped corn. Yipping and cackling like a pack of jackals over something which transpired on the moving picture window.

Abby's serene calmness was rather unsettling. Kol frequently found himself watching the former witch for signs of a rage so feral the conclusion of her fit would find all of her neighbors drained and in pieces. For even if she attempted to slaughter her adoptive son, such a transgression would be standard behavior for the newly undead, but no. Instead she eyed him and Elijah as if they were prime cuts on a menu. Usually, he would find her boldness amusing. The predator within however, had no such notion. No, the beast perceived the infantile vampire as a threat. Which was beyond ludicrous! Right?

Kol Mikaelson was an Original vampire. The undisputed fact positioned him and his siblings on top of the supernatural food chain. So prey would never be a name he'd hoist upon himself as a brand, yet when the former Bennett witch looked on him that is shamefully how he felt. Like a bloody lamb shuffling to the middle of the herd in attempts to safeguard himself from the devious wolf skulking around the peripheries of the flock.

The opposite held true for Elijah. Where Kol kept his distance from the odd Bennett vampire, his elder brother gravitated to her like a moth whose end would soon be met by the flames. Elijah's forwardness had been so since he'd insinuated himself into being a part of Abby's acclimation to vampirism. Which annoyed Bonnie to great distraction.

On several different occasions, Bonnie had threatened his eldest brother with eternal flames and conjuring spells that would summon a white oak stake to the palm of her hand. In turn Elijah would remind her, he and his siblings were linked and whatever fate befell him would most assuredly find his beloved baby brother. This line of reasoning would temper their bickering until the next time his brother did or said something inane to provoke his witch.

" _One, two, Klaus is coming for you…"_ The disturbing sound of children eerily singing snatched Kol from his contemplations. _"Three four you better lock your door…"_

Bonnie's chant came to an end as a cute little growl ripped its way from her throat. She tugged a small rectangular telephone from her pocket and glared at the glowing screen. Confusion and irritation chased away the annoyed expression from her face.

"Immortal Nemesis…the hell," she mumbled, before hitting a green circle on the flashing surface of the miniature telephone. "Hello?"

" _I need to speak with my baby brother, witch. Put him on now, or I will come there and huff, and puff, and blow in your mother's bloody hovel,"_ NiKlaus' aggravated tone floated from the telephone.

Kol's field of vision slightly narrowed. Nik was undoubtedly wearing on his nerves.

" _Klaus?!_ " His witch hissed through the slits of her teeth. "How the hell did you get this number?"

" _I have my ways, little Witch."_ Nik's voice dropped an octave. Kol's eyes rolled on their own accord. Could bloody Niklaus be more apparent? _"Ways that will make your sour breath catch-,"_

"It's for you," his little Love said, extending the tiny telephone to him.

"Many apologies for my bugger of a brother," he said as he accepted the rectangular object from her. "You see, he slaughtered our mother before his home training was complete."

His beautiful Goddess blessed him with a crooked smile before closing her eyes and resuming her chant. He slipped from the room to prevent disturbing her. Once he'd exited the house and stood on the lanai he pressed the portable telephone to his ear.

"Yes, Niklaus?" He said, closing his eyes and releasing a sigh.

"Attend me, baby Brother. Have you yet, discussed with the Bennett Witch her plan on unlinking us?" Niklaus demanded in his deceptively calm voice.

"Yes, between assisting her mother with her adaptation to vampirism," he growled into the telephone, "and managing her insurmountable grief over Abby's departure from nature, my witch has had an infinite amount of time to brainstorm an unlinking spell."

"Sarcasm will not serve you to satisfaction in relation to our survival, little Brother," Nik barked from his end of the line. "You've had forty-eight hours to induce the little witch around to our cause. Assure me you've achieved more than acerbity in your pursuit. What is the point of your bloody dalliance with the Bennett Witch if you refuse to exploit the relationship to secure the continuation of your family?"

"My bond with my mate is not your concern, and it will not be utilized as a tool of manipulation, Nik," he hissed into the telephone. "I'll speak with Bonnie about unlinking us, but only when Abby's standing is unwavering and no sooner."

" _Kol!"_ Nik snapped. "You have twenty-four hours to bring the little witch to heel. Exceed the limit of time I've set and I'll see to the Bennett Witch myself."

"And, I'll introduce you to your-,"

When the line clicked off Kol had to employ a great bloody deal of restraint in order to avoid crushing his little Love's cellular device. Niklaus was a bastard and his questionable conception had nothing to do with the conclusion of Kol's evaluation.

"What did Klaus want?" Bonnie's voice floated to him from the doorway.

He turned to dedicate his regard to his lovely witch. His arms, automatically opened ready to accept the familiar curve of her frame. His little love stepped into his embrace without a pittance of reservation as if she'd done so for years instead of days.

Once he had her folded snugly in his hold, he breathed her, holding her fragrance in until his lungs threatened to rupture. "My bastard of a brother wants me to either manipulate or strong arm you into performing the spell that will unlink us."

"What the hell is his rush? Was he not paying attention when we knocked Esther on her ass?" She craned her neck to look up at him. "Your mother is damn near powerless, and regardless of Finn's obsession to take a swan dive to the other side, y'all are not exactly easy to kill. Trust me, I've had a shit ton of practice from firing shots at Klaus over the last several months."

He broke eye contact to stare off towards the forest line. The threat of another White Oak tree tore the claim of immortality from his and his siblings clutching grasps.

"Hold up. What's with the face?" His little Love asked, while placing a hand to the center of his chest. "What the hell's going on now?"

"Esther doesn't require magic to dispatch us. There's another White Oak tree in existence." He paused to press a kiss to her upturned mouth before continuing. "Once she secures the wood she needs to fasten herself a stake, she'll drive it into her little sycophant's chest. Then my siblings and I will be no more."

"I'm going to need you and your siblings' blood. Access to Esther's grimoire-," Bonnie began.

"Little Love, wait," he said, cradling her face in his hands. "This can wait. Abby needs you-,"

"Like hell. Abby's stable, while you're silently stressing over threats of a white oak stake. That's nowhere in the vicinity of being cool, Kol." She wrenched herself from his arms to glare at him. "How long have you known about this?"

His arms dropped to his sides, as he fought to overcome the greatness of their loss. "Since the night Abby transitioned."

"And you waited to tell me because?" Her facial muscles contorted, and then a frown claimed her lovely asymmetrical features.

"Abby needed your uncompromised attention after that dim-witted blonde unwittingly lured your mother through transition," he reasoned as he reached for her again.

His delectable witch slapped away his attempts, while giving him a truly formidable glare. "What if you would've died? I would've had no fucking idea of why it happened." She pressed her fingerstips to her temples and began to massage tiny circles into the sides of her head. "You know what…this is pointless. At any given moment you can go all black veins and bone white. And I'm not here for that, Kol." She spun on her heel and headed towards the door.

"Please don't give your back to me, little Love." He grabbed her elbow, and then whirled her around to face him. The thought of Bonnie taking her leave of him, drenched Kol in fear and provoked his hands to shake. "You have my word, my darling. My reluctance to disclose my current predicament was not motivated by deceit. I only wished to provide you with an indeterminate amount time to care for your mother."

"The only thing I need you to provide me with is complete—Windex waxed—transparency. I have enough people in my life being less than real and keeping shit from me. Those issues can't be ours. We won't work if there are walls between us, Kol."

She slipped a hand in his, before standing on the tips of her toes and pillaging his mouth with a slow tongue plunging kiss. When his control had all but dissolved into a puddle of need at their feet, the little Seductress had the cheek to sever their lips.

"Little Love, please," he growled, attempting to pin her to the wooden planks by the door. "Afford me but a few more moments."

"Once we deal with your mother and burn that stupid ass tree to the ground, I'll run you a whole damn week-end." To his complete frustration, she ducked out of his hold, and then beckoned for him to follow her. "Now come. I'm gonna give Abby her day light ring, and then we'll head back to Mystic Falls so we can gather the things we need to get you unlinked."

After entering the house, he followed Bonnie down the short hall to Abby's bedroom. His little Love knocked once, and then opened the door. The sight, which greeted them instantaneously prompted him to spurn his heightened Original senses. In that moment there was no advantage to be had in having superior vision, auditory, or olfactory senses. For if he could gouge out his eyes, rupture his ear drums, and hack off his nose he would without a second contemplation.

If he claimed no senses, he wouldn't have borne witness to the repulsive scene before him. A truly reprehensible sight which consisted of the upper half of Elijah's body buried beneath Abby's floral printed skirts, while she leisurely ravaged the artery in his wrist. Not to mention, he wouldn't have had to endure the moans, snarls, and slurping noises, which attacked his hearing even as the stench of Abby's arousal affronted his all too sensitive nostrils. For senseless ignorance would've been his nirvana. Kind of like the nirvana the writhing duo on the bed shared. Who incidentally was so far gone in there lust, they hadn't even gleaned they were no longer alone.

"Elijah," Bonnie screamed, and the light bulbs in the ceiling fan overhead exploded, sending shards and fragments of frosted glass in different directions. "What the hell are you doing to my mama?!"

* * *

"I always knew you were a natural blonde, Love," Niklaus murmured, while eying the meticulously waxed golden landing strip at the apex of Caroline's glorious thighs. "Everything about your person is flawless. Why, the alluring Beyoncé's song could be a testament to you. For I can't imagine you rising from slumber in any other state than you are now. You're beyond perfection."

"I'm not so perfect I could see what was right in front of me," Caroline whispered between slightly parted dampened lips. "How could I ever want a pup like Tyler when I could have an alpha? A king." To his utter shock and reluctant delight, the beautiful blonde slapped herself across the cheek…quite hard. "I'm such a stupid waste of space, Klaus."

"Please, call me Nikki, Love," he said, before pressing a kiss to her creamy inner thigh. "And you mustn't say such things about yourself. No matter how much truth those words held in the past. Now wait here while I retrieve my sketch pad and drawing utensils. I want nothing more than to suspend this moment forever."

"Wouldn't it be quicker to take a damn picture?" The mocking tone of the young Bennett Witch corrupted the calm of his sanctuary and laid waste to his peace of mind.

"Bonnie?!" Caroline cried.

Niklaus scramble from the cradle of Caroline's inviting thighs to attend the scheming chit. When his glare collided with the—five foot nothing—witch lurking in the doorway of his bedroom, a frown tugged at the muscles in his face. The Bennett Witch wouldn't know fashion even if it introduced itself to her wearing a bloody name tag. For there she stood wearing a green camouflage bomber, four sizes too big, black combat boots laced all the way up to her calves, while the strap of one of her infamous oversized carpetbags crossed her upper body.

Irritation dined on him raw! "How the bloody hell did you get in here, Witch?"

"Humph." The little Marta Hari cursed him with a distracting lip twisting smirk. "It's cute how you believe there's a lock in existence that can keep me out, Hybrid. Now send Care away. You and I have some unfinished business we need to get into."

She then proceeded to remove the carpet bag from her person so she could open the monstrosity and dig through the madness inside. After she'd set up a cheap generic brand stereo of some sort, her glare found his glower.

"Are you deaf? Get rid of her!" The little witch snapped.

The skin at the back of his neck prickled at being ordered about by the tiny harpy. "I'll advise you to repack you luggage and take your leave, you scheming little shrew."

"I said," she began to slowly unzip the coat revealing blazing red lingerie so outrageous call girls and street hookers would weep in shame, "get rid-,"

Before the words could finish leaving the little nymph's engaging mouth he turned to Caroline with bulging eyes and dilated pupils. "Go count every leaf in Mystic Falls." His gaze left the blonde vampire's briefly to regard the Bennett Witch. The hint of chocolate nipples peeking at him through the lace of her bra, drove his compelling stare back to his sweet but boring Caroline's wide-eyed gaze. "And when you're finished counting them, give names to them all based on each of their characteristics, my dearest."

Caroline nodded, and then used her vampire speed to exit the room. "Now, little Witch," he propped himself up on the pillows to visually violate the temptress with a seriously lecherous gaze, "what is this business you refer to that requires emergent discussion."

"I don't remember saying we'd be discussing any, damn, thing!" The jacket slid from her curvaceous body and pooled around the soles of her combat boots. "Trixie, play, _No Hands, by Waka Flocka Flame_."

Music erupted from the crescent black box she unpacked. _"Girl the way you're movin', got me in a trance…"_

Then the little witch began to gyrate, because surely her stimulating hip swivels couldn't be considered dance. Her backend moved in a ways he never contemplated an arse cable of moving. The impeccably rounded bum, shook, bounced, wobbled, dropped, and rose again like an avenging phoenix from the ashes and flames.

Several inappropriate songs later, he was completely besotted by her clever bottom. He wanted nothing more than to bury his fangs and prick deep in his devious little mate, rejoining their souls once and for all.

"BLOODY HELL!" He awakened from the appalling nightmare with his fangs bared. Feathers and strips of his suede duvet floated around him, while also littering his king sized mattress.

"Nik, what the devil is wrong with you? Why are you bellowing like a bloody drunkard forty-eight hours into prohibition?" Rebekah yelled as the whirl of colors surrounding her bled dry to solidify her form.

"Night terrors, Sister," he rasped, while sliding from the scene of the nasty deed. "Horrid night terrors!"

"But it's past noon, Nik."

He shook his head as he gasped for unnecessary oxygen. "The time is clearly not relevant, Rebekah. For the unspeakable images have sought me out in the light of day!"

His baby sister narrowed her eyes as she scanned his person. "Nik, you're drenched." A frown rumpled her silken forehead. "And trembling. Did you dream of father again?"

"Worse," he replied in a broken whisper. "Dear sister, I'm afraid I may never close my eyes again. The witch must find a way to unlink us soon. Before we all find our bloody selves felled by that calculating trollop's artifice. The same as Kol!"

"Brother, your actions are beyond questionable! I find no reasoning in what you're on about."

"It matters not, Bekah," he said, waving her off before swaggering over to the elevator. After they'd stepped on and he hit the S button for the sublevel of the mansion, he settled his attention back on sister. "What did our one-dimensional mayor have to say for herself? Was she able to give any insight on the whereabouts of that damned tree?"

"Only that most of the forest was leveled to build the town. Oh and compensate me ample regard on this brother," Rebekah said, before stepping off the elevator. "The family who controlled the lumber during such time were the Salvatores. The irony is quite suffocating, Nik."

"Do you perceive the nonsensical twosome may still very well be in possession of those records?" He asked as he walked further into the studio to regard several completed paintings still mounted on easels.

"Have you not had the opportunity to cast your gaze upon their boarding house? They're worse off than those dejected loonies on the show I watch. Epic hoarders, they are. Why, they even have horse shoes, quite rudimentary in their construction, which dates back to the middle ages." Rebekah scoffed. "The middle ages, Nik! Nothing fashioned from that era is worth keeping."

"Maybe the witless wonders have a profound love of horses, Bekah," he said, while failing miserably at maintaining a straight face and relaxed brows.

She bestowed on him a look many reserved for toddlers and simpletons alike. "They've turned their stables into a garage, Nik."

Niklaus snorted, before running an admiring gaze over a portrait of Caroline. To think, he actually turned her out of his bed in favor of a tumble with the Bennett Witch. Only in a nightmare would such a scenario be appropriate.

"Speaking of worthless rubbish that should've been left to the compost pile that was the middle ages. It seems Finn's former doxy Sage is thoroughly aquainted with Damon Salvatore." Rebekah's face scrunched when her gaze fell upon the portrait of Caroline.

"Careful, baby Sister." This time he couldn't prevent himself from smirking. "You have the tone of a spiteful jilted lover."

"Please, the elder Salvatore was nothing more than a vindictive lay," she said, schooling her features in icy impassiveness. "How else was I going to balance the scales with that doppelwhore for daggering me in the back? Especially, when the bloody lot of you refuse to allow me to kill her."

"Then why not seduce the Ripper?" He inquired, not even partially interested. The more his sister prattled on the calmer his tattered nerves became, and the lesser his treacherous cock raged. Damn that insufferable little witch!

Rebekah shook her head as her mouth screwed into a mocking smile. "Dear Brother, when it comes to women you have even less intelligence than that of dullard. As splendid and humanlike as Stefan may be, he doesn't even begin to know which way to spin that slag's taps. Damon on the other hand…well," wickedness corrupted the mock in her smile. "He'll get the waters gushing every time."

"So you're implying the doppelwench prefers Damon to Stefan, because the elder Salvatore's morals are nonexistent?" He asked, turning to give her his undivided consideration.

"Morals?" Rebekah laughed. "Good gads, brother. What are _thoossse_?! No, Elena favors Damon because he's sinfully sexy, wickedly bad, and not weighed down by daunting inhibitions. He'd make a nun think twice about keeping on her knickers. And she wouldn't be wrong. Why, I ruined a two hundred dollar manicure from scaling his bedroom walls."

"Ridiculous." He waved away her inane claims. "Once upon a time you fancied yourself in love with Stefan."

"When he was the Ripper," she countered. "Not this bunny stalking, stag chasing fiend he proclaims himself to be now. If you don't believe me, then just fix your gaze upon the ever judgmental Bennett Witch. Whenever Kol's about, she practically leaves puddles on the floor in her wake and he's truly the most gruesome of us all. The Original Ripper to boot."

His head bobbed in agreement. "The little witch does appear to be quite blind to Kol's shortcomings."

"As a bat trapped in direct sunlight," she said with a shrug, before pensive wrinkles gathered between her brows. "Although, for a while I half expected to discover her in your bed, Nik."

An image of the little Bennett Witch bouncing her hind quarters in front of him exploded before his eyes. Even as horror snatched his mouth open, the oral cavity still began to water. He shook his head to shake the picture from his mind frame.

"What in bleeding, bloody hell would give you that notion?"

"The fine line you two skirt between passion and hate. Elijah and I even have a wager going on whether you'll kill or shag the other first. Guess you know what side of the gamble my brash landed," she said with a coy grin and an impertinent wink.

He impaled his sister with a narrowed eyed glare. "Enough of this pointless conversation over the fickle ways of women. Tell me, dear Sister, do you suspect the Salvatores are aware of the loaded weapon in their arsenal?"

"At present, no. Damon is more concerned with luring Stefan off the wagon and clearing my drunken history teacher of his murder charges." She reached out to touch Caroline's portrait and he slapped her hand away. Her glare was cutting in retaliation. "What of the witch? Has Kol gained her assurance that she'll indeed unlink us?"

"As of yet, no," he said, while swaggering over to the mini fridge by the door to withdraw a blood bag. "However, Kol has been placed on a strict deadline. If he fails to secure the little witch's assistance within his allotted time, then I'll take matters in hand. Even now I have one of my hybrids on his way to Denver."

"What the devil is in Denver?" Rebekah asked as she accepted the blood bag he offered.

He smirked, while withdrawing a bag for himself. "The Gilbert whelp."

"The doppelganger's brother/cousin?" Rebekah questioned as she followed him from the studio and up the spiral staircase. "Didn't he throw her over for a sodding ghost?"

"And it devastated her," he cooed with a dry cackle. "My spies reported, she wept for weeks."

"How many times will I have to inform you, Nik? Samantha and Krysta are not your bloody spies they're my friends. So will you please seize eavesdropping on our conversations," Rebekah seethed just as the doorbell rang.

He tsked, before zipping through the foyer to attend the caller. Upon pulling open the French glass doors a mass of garnet curls enraptured his vision, until the owner of said curls spun around to regard him with a practiced indifference.

"Okay, I'm here," she said with a jutting chin, which rose a fraction of an inch with each word she spoke. "So where the fuck is he?"

A familiar tug quirked the corner of his mouth. "Hello, Sage. Do come in so we may reacquaint ourselves, love."

* * *

"Bonnie?" Abby questioned with squinted lids and glazed eyes.

"Bonnie, what's-," Jamie's question withered and died on his lips. "Oh." He managed when his eyes landed on a smug Elijah and thoroughly sated, but shamed face Abby.

"Jamie?" Abby whispered as she dropped Elijah's wrist.

"Abby what the hell's going on in here?!" Bonnie screeched, only one damn stumble away from going over the edge.

"Calm down, little girl! This is not-," Abby began.

"This is exactly what it looks like," Elijah said speaking over Abby and effectively cutting her off. "Unless you wait until the occupants of a room grants permission to enter, then knocking is rather insufficient wouldn't you think, Ms. Bennett?"

"What I think is, your ass should be burning right now! That's the only thought skipping through my head." Bonnie's glare swung to commit visual assault on Abby. "What the fuck are you smoking and choking on, Abby? Have you forgotten your damn mind? He's the reason nature swerved your as-,"

"Bonnie B, you motivate every decision I make. There's not one step I've taken without thinking about you first, so trust me when I say, you need to pump brakes before you crash. Because all of this," Abby said, while using a hand to air wax the space between them, "disrespect you're serving up, has your—wanna be grown—ass, racing towards a brick wall with no seat belt, while doing a hundred. And the last thing I want, is to resort to the days of switches and ass whoopings. So how about we use our intelligent words instead?"

Bonnie clenched her back teeth to help her slick mouth hang on to her even slicker remarks, because Abby was right. Grams raised her to be a queen, not gutter. Leveling down was inexcusable. No matter what situation came courting, her crown and character should always remain intact. Even if the situation involved Elijah face timing her mother.

She closed her eyes, and fought to compose herself with a round of deep breathing. Woosahing however, did nothing for the shit storm blowing at a category five in her head. Shock propelled her thoughts in diverse directions, while confusion bombarded her brain with fifty-eleven questions. Attempting to focus on even one maneuvered her mental state from stunned dumb to blind crazy.

How could Abby disrespect herself in such way? Elijah was the main accelerant in the fire, which had burned her mother's life to the ground. Was she crazy? Did Bennett Witches lose their damn minds after completing transition? Who the hell knew? Abby was the precedent.

Bonnie dragged in another deep breath in an attempt to strong arm calm, but the elusive state of mind refused to be forced. It wasn't until Kol slipped his hand in hers that tranquility gave up the fight and submitted. Only then, was she able to order her raggedy ass thoughts.

"You're compelling her aren't you?" She demanded, swinging the burden of her glare to Elijah.

He scoffed. "Your mother is not susceptible to compulsion."

"The bloody hell she's not," Kol argued, pulling her closer to him. "Every second generation vampire and so on can be sodding compelled, and well you know, Elijah. So seize with your unconvincing deceptions and undo your compulsion on Abby, before my witch decides to utilize her ingenuity in pursuit of locating a means to repeal your immortality."

"Brother, you squander yours words, attempting to instruct me on the rule of compulsion. Especially, when it was I who initially tutored you on the ability to control minds," Elijah said, pushing himself free from the gap between Abby's thighs. His actions sparked her simmering blood to boil anew.

Abby tugged the front of her skirt down over her knees. "The Jack Ass isn't lying. Right before we left the mansion, he tried to compel me into going to Maldives with him. Claimed he wanted to educate me in the ways of vampirism without Mystic Falls' riffraff interfering with my tutelage. His words not mine"

"And she told me I'd have to stake her first." He followed up. His tone was dry and indifferent as ever. However, the hint of enjoyment that glinted his eyes contradicted his cool, calm, and collected vibe.

The sound of Abby's chuckle—that's right, her damn chuckle—tore Bonnie's, hell raised, scowl from the older original to regard her mother instead. "And don't you know this fool became real common. Talking about it would be his privilege to impale me. Humph! Damn right it would, but I wouldn't wet his magic stick even if his cold dead rod could restore my relationship to nature."

"Abby!" Bonnie and Jamie cried in unison, while sporting matching looks of disgust.

"Pardon my inanity," Kol said, dropping her hand to wrap an arm around her waist. "But are your flagrant innuendos implying, my dear brother has yet to navigate the waters of your feminine channel?"

"Kol," Bonnie hissed, smacking him on the chest. The last thing she wanted to hear about was how Elijah drove his little dinghy through her mother's swampy waters.

"That is no concern of yours, Kol." Elijah's gaze then found hers and an evil smile revealed his mouth for what it was, a corrupt tool of sin. "I will say this however, had Ms. Bennett practiced the politeness and common courtesy she's always so on about, her mother would've known truth death and not the fleeting pleasure of a sexually repressed teen-aged girl. Why, all one has to do is blow on her hairy little bits, and over the edge she hurtles. There's no sport to be discovered in such simplicity."

Before Bonnie could remember queens should never step down to clap back at peasants, she raised a hand and twisted her fist. Elijah departed from his undead state before his eyes had the privilege of closing. However, her satisfaction was short lived when Kol's frame crumpled as well and dragged her down with him.

"The hell?!" She growled from beneath Kol's dead weight.

"Bonnie," Jamie yelled as he helped free one of her legs from under the lower half of Kol's body. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ignoring Jamie's attempts to help her stand she glared at Abby, while she began to straighten out her original's extremities. "What just happened, Abby? Is my magic beginning to go dark?"

"They're still linked," Abby muttered as she knelt beside Elijah. "The longer they stay this way the more unstable the bond becomes. Esther cast the spell so neither sibling would be aware of the link until it was too late. Now she no longer has control over the magic keeping the hex intact, it's deteriorating and drawing them closer together in the process." Her mother closed her eyes, and then allowed her hands to hover of the older Original. "I suspect it's degraded to the point, if one of their undead asses get a paper cut, the others will bleed as well. I'm surprised they haven't begun to experience each other's emotions."

Her head swung from side to side. Unlinking Kol from his siblings, upgraded from priority one to red alert protocol. "I'm gonna do a locator spell to find Finn, because the longer Kol is linked to his brothers and sister I won't be able to close my eyes. Abby, do you know any spells to speed up their healing process? There's no time to…"

Even as her words died on her lips, the grinding, snapping noise of bones healing and popping into place encountered her ears in a subtle confrontation. Elijah and Kol's spines had begun to mend, but not on its own accord. A glow shrouded in in opaque darkness radiated from the palms of Abby's hands. The dim light swirled in slow writhing movements over the older Original's upper body from the nape of his neck to bottom of his spine.

Before she could wrap her brain around the incomprehensible detail, her mother—the vampire—had managed to perform some sort of restorative spell, Kol twitched. Soon as his hot chocolate stare located hers, she exhaled.

"Kol, I'm sooo sorry and so stupid." She leaned forward and peppered kisses all over his face. "Can't believe I forgot about the link. What if I'd found a way to turn Elijah into an eternal-,"

Between her apologies, half-ass excuses, and lip smacking pecks, Kol managed to take possession of her mouth. For one searing moment she allowed his talented tongue to sweep her back to the night they met. When the scotch had teeth, and their wet kisses tangoed on the side of sloppy.

"Abby, this entire scene is bullshit!" Jamie's high pitch bawl punctured the memory and dropped them back in their fucked up reality. "When you left my sperm donor, you promised this would never again be our life. Yet here we are once _again_ , but worse. Now you're a vampire, and they're vampires. Every body's a fucking vampire. That's one too many damn supernaturals thrown into the equation, and you know Geometry isn't my thang!"

"Apparently," Elijah and Kol said in unison.

"Shut the hell up. Why're y'all here?" Jamie asked, before rounding on Abby. "Why're they even here, Abby?"

"Jamie, what you walked in on…it's not what you think. Elijah was just feeding me. He's the only thing I can swallow without wanting rip out my esophagus. Animal blood, human blood, it doesn't matter. None of that shit does it for me."

"What?" Bonnie tore her gaze from Jamie to eyeball Abby.

"Wait, excuse me?" Caroline's raspy soprano cut like a knife through the discord in the room as she stepped from the doorway. "So you only pretended to enjoy that puma you took down last night. Damn it, Abby! We spent almost two hours tracking that damn cat."

"Please, last night was your hunt. Not once did you take the time to notice I have no fangs and could barely even keep up with you," Abby's top lip curled at the corner as her disapproving glare swept the blonde vampire from head to toe.

Kol climbed to his feet, pulling her up too as he stood. "What in the bleeding hell do you mean, the only nourishment you've been sustaining on is Elijah? You're a sodding vampire, darling. Human blood is the gold seal of nutrition for the undead."

"She speaks the truth, brother," Elijah confirmed with a frown, while giving his regard to dusting his pants free of lint. "How else would you explain Niklaus' blood being capable of transitioning her?'

"Let me just stop you right there," Caroline snapped, sauntering further into the room. "Your brother is an ass hole. Just how long has Klaus been switching out my AB neg donations for bags filled with his blood to try and force a blood bond with me?"

"You can't truly believe we know Niklaus' diabolical little mind." Elijah scoffed as he unrolled the sleeves of his button down. "You've been dead long enough to be able to tell the difference between human and vampire blood."

" _Fuck_ all of this Bram Stokers and Anne Rice shit," Jamie yelled over all of the confusion. "This may be your life now, Abby," he shook his head, while his wild wide-eyed stare ricocheted over them all, "but it won't be mine." With that said he spun on his heel, and damn near ran Caroline down as he stomped towards the door and out of the room.

"Jamie! This boy has lost his damn mind," Abby muttered, before rushing after him.

By the time her mother made it down the hall she realized Abby would soon be S.O.L in the blazing noon sun without her daylight ring. "Abby, wait. You're not wearing a daylight ring." She called, rushing after him.

When Bonnie made it to the front of the house, the door was wide open, while Abby stood in the front yard holding Jamie by the arm. "This situation is not permanent. Once I understand whatever this is I'm going through, then things will get back to normal. You just have to work with me on this, Jamie."

"I appreciate everything you've done for me, Abby. If not for you I'd be dead right now, but I'm sorry," he said, yanking his arm from her grasp, "your issues are not mine, and you can't expect me to put your weight on my shoulders after everything that bastard put me through." He slowly shook his head, before backing away. His gaze swung to hers. "Take care of her, Bonnie. Abby, may be the baddest beast in the bush when it come to her cubs, but she still needs a shoulder every now and again." His watery caramel stare reclaimed Abby's. "Love you, Ma."

Letting those words stand as his goodbye, Jamie whirled around and power walked away. For several moments, her mother stood there watching her surrogate son make his way back to the large shed he used as an apartment. Bonnie couldn't help feeling guilty as hell. If she'd never contacted Abby about helping her open the Original Witch's coffin, then her position wouldn't be trash right now. Fuck it! There's no way she was going to allow Jamie to walk out on Abby. She moved to descend the porch steps.

Care placed a hand on her forearm. "I'll talk to Jamie, you stay and see about Abby."

She wanted to argue with her best friend, but down where it mattered most she knew Caroline was right. Abby needed her, whether she chose to admit it or not. "Go, Care."

When Caroline zipped away, Kol placed a hand on her hip as his lips brushed the lobe of her ear. "I'm not comprehending. How's she able to accomplish the unfeasible?"

"What'd you mean?" She asked without tearing her eyes from the back of Abby's head.

"You haven't given her the daylight ring you've only just spelled for her, yet there she basks in direct sunlight."

The enchanted ring hummed in the palm of Bonnie's hand. With all the drama unfolding in the front yard, she'd forgotten her sole purpose for intruding on Abby and Jamie's moment. Kol's question realigned her prospective, while shock knocked her dumb with a one-two jab to the face. Just how in the hell was Abby able to stand under the afternoon sun and remain barbeque free?

When her mother turned, her soulful eyes locked on Bonnie and narrowed. "What, now? Why're you staring at me like I just snatched a rainbow from my ass?"

Kol snorted.

Bonnie raised her hand with the daylight ring pinched between her thumb and index finger. "I forgot to give you this."

* * *

"Harder…deeper…I said deeper you son of a dog," Esther growled between her huffs and puffs for air.

"If I go any deeper, my dick's gonna pop outta your mouth, Bae," her lover murmured, before slapping her on the bum, "and what I told you about calling my mom's out her name? If you wanna keep getting this meat, you better respect the queen who had me."

"You force me to meet my end and your mother will have my interminable remorse," Esther grunted as she balanced her weight on her fists and knees.

"Well get ready to be real sorry, 'cause I'm about to make you bust so hard we gonna need goggles in this bitch." For emphasis he drove his trouser snake further into her frustratingly semi-wet channel.

Damn those bloody Bennett Witches! Did they believe themselves clever, restoring her to life in the midst of the drying of her courses? Why, when Niklaus gouged her heart from her chest a thousand years ago, she was still quite fertile and her feminine juices ran rather freely. Now her womb was dryer than a pail of rocks roasted in hell.

"Hey, what you do with the K-Y? Your snappa starting to get a lil' thirsty." Her lover's tone became sharpened by the edge of irritation.

Feeling overwhelmingly inadequate, she squinted her eyes shut, and then flexed her muscles squeezing his naughty bit until he groaned. "Arch your back, Mrs. Parker."

"Who is this Mrs. Parker of which you speak?" She demanded, but when he began to pound into her, she abandoned her quest for an answer in favor of searching out her conclusion.

Seconds later she found herself flipped on her back, her legs on her partner's shoulders, while her feet pointed ungracefully at the ceiling. She squealed her delight as her lover's bell-end brushed the intimate spot which housed her much needed death. Her thighs trembled. Perspiration dotted her brow, sweat dripped from the bridge of her nose and rolled from the nape of her neck down her back.

She was but moments away from a grand finale. One more push against her brilliant little spot and the curtains would undoubtedly fall. Her strappingly capable lover had no intentions of letting her throw herself over the cliff without meeting his terms first. The speed and power of his thrusts decreased. The building pressure in her womb and the bundle of flesh behind her meaty drapes slightly abated.

"Say my name!" He ordered as his nails clawed at her hips.

Her mouth flapped open and closed. How dare he deny her compensation? Sweat drenched her body as proof of her labor. "I will do no such thing you insufferable cad. Now finish me before I hex you into sterilization."

The expression of bliss on his face darkened to a possible demon possessed scowl. In one swift move, he withdrew himself from her worn undercarriage. His formidable meat puppet bobbed and bowed with no strings attached. Esther couldn't stop her famished gaze from visually feasting on him whole. After all, the chocolate slab of fetching muscle still shined from her partial slickness.

Esther's tongue slapped the roof of her mouth to alleviate its sudden dryness. Her lover shoved her legs from his shoulders. He then snatched the lubricant from the tiny wooden wardrobe by the bed and emptied the contents into the palm of his hand. With his demon dark glare still trained on her, he grabbed his knob and began tugging and twisting until his seed shot from his end-piece and landed on her lower gut, twat, and the bottom of her arse. Once he recovered from the expulsion of his semen, he slid from the bed and began to redress.

Unfulfilled sexual release, snatched the ancient witch to her knees. Clasping her hand together she implored, "I meant no disrespect. You can't mean to leave in such a state, Lover."

"You should've said my damn name when I told you." He shoved his feet in his sand shoes. "Next time you'll know better." Snatching his keys from the table, he swaggered towards the door.

Esther leaped from the bed and shrugged into her dressing gown. "Donovan, Donovan, Donovan! There, I've said it and will continue to do so as many times as you request it of me. So please stop this madness and return to the comforts of my bed."

"Nah," he shook his head with a smirk rivaling that of Niklaus'. "I'm good on the comforts of your bed. Maybe I'll come through tomorrow to see how well you learned your lesson."

"So I can stay another night, then?" Esther inquired as the fog of lust cleared from her brain and she recalled what prompted her abandonment of decency.

For she hadn't spread herself open for the sole pursuit of pleasure. Since she was now a woman of no means and Donovan owned the establishment, they'd come to an arrangement. His prowess in the boudoir was nothing more than a surprising bonus.

"Yeah, you can chill," he said with an indifferent shrug. "I'll let Esau know on my way out."

Esther could tell by the disinterest in his eyes, his thoughts were already elsewhere. And well they should. She had no great ambition for any romantic entanglements. Her solitary purpose to kill her children remained unchanged.

"You have my unrelenting gratitude, Donovan." She inclined her head in his direction, "and should you have need of my charms later this eve, don't hesitate to call on me."

He laughed. "Your charms need milk, E. They drier than a lesbian at a meat show…but," his shoulders rose and fell in a noncommittal shrug, "you crazy as shit though, and I gotta admit that I do dig the fuck outta crazy bitches. Get some rest. I'll try to check back in with you tomorrow."

When the door closed after him, an easy smile crept across her lips.

"Your optimism is disheartening, Esther. I find your fool like grin rather incensing in the light of your latest failure as a witch and daughter of nature." The sound of Ayana Bennett's voice turned her blood cold.

Taking a deep breath, she refreshed her smile, before whirling around to meet her fate. "Sister, you cannot fathom how delighted I am to see you again. Had I known you could cross the veil at will, I wouldn't have despaired so over when we'd be reunited next."

"Seize with your false adulation, Esther," Ayana said, lifting her chin to slay her with a sweltering glare. "My backend is quite chaffed from your eager lips. Your deceitful mouth would serve you better by informing me how you plan to rectify the situation you blundered."

Esther wanted nothing more than to poke Ayana to see if her old mentor was corporeal, but she knew better than to provoke a powerful beast. "No need to fear, Sister. My most recent endeavor to restore balance to nature is already underway."

"We've heard," Ayana said, strolling about Esther's tiny quarters giving disapproving looks to anything her indiscriminate glance fell upon. "The stench in your chambers is reprehensible. Enlighten me Esther, is rutting with a common criminal a tattered fragment in the larger tapestry of this grand plan?"

Esther's mouth opened, and bluster bubbled forth, "Of course not. Why, I only meant to secure my living arrangements with this trivial dalliance."

"Then why not inquire of labor as a humble servant to this deplorable establishment as an alternative to whoring yourself out to a willing bidder?" The ancient Bennett Witch questioned as she wrinkled her nose at the soiled linen piled high on the mattress.

"Sister, you know I suffer with aches in my spine after being kicked by Mikael's ornery mule. My person would never tolerate such menial labor."

"How curious. By the way you arched and dipped your spine only moments past, I'd say your recovery was nothing short of miraculous, _Sister_."

Her mentor's tone doused her in shame and resentment. Who was Ayana to judger her? For her head has never known the weight of a halo nor has her back ever borne the burden of wings.

Keeping her temper in check, she inhaled deeply to dull the edge of her tongue. "Some agonies can be borne for a minuscule sum of time."

"Oh, pardon me of your tedious chatter, Esther," Ayana snapped. She withdrew a scrap of linen from the bodice of her dress, and then began to wipe down a chair. "Converse with me of your imprudent scheme to create, yet another abomination of nature." Once the ancient Bennett Witch finished rubbing at the chair, she sat and gave the Original Witch her regard.

"Yes," Esther forced serenity into her features, while taking the seat across from Ayana, "another abomination, yet another abomination with limitations."

Ayana waved a hand for her to continue. "Speak to me of these limitations."

"Instead of making immortality the foundation of the spell, it's my intent to bind the hunter's life to the doppelgangers. Since a majority of the magic fueling the spell won't contribute to sustaining eternal life, Mr. Saltzman will be stronger than Niklaus, faster than Elijah, and more vicious than Kol. His hunting skills will be superior to even Mikael's." She slapped her hands together practically giddy by her own cleverness.

Her mentor cocked a brow. "And after your children are dead, and humanity is once again safe…do you honestly expect nature to allow such a creature to wander about her habitat for the next eighty or so years?"

"Gads no," Esther scoffed. "Upon the completion of his task, the compulsion ingrained in the spell will instruct him to relieve the doppelganger of her life to free himself of his cursed existence."

"Well it appears you've perceived everything concerning this farce of a plot," Ayana said with all emotion void from her face.

"So do I have the support of you and your line, then?" Esther held her breath.

"Finn's precise on his findings of your scheme." Ayana folded her arms under her bosom. "The absurdity of your plot wanes on without boundaries or limits, but desperate straits rarely bequeaths sound options. For a daughter of my line has transitioned into an abhorrence of nature."

"Sister, no!" Esther's jaw dropped at the implications this could have upon nature and the supernatural community on a whole.

"Unfortunately, I speak the truth. Now more than ever, it's imperative your spawns are concluded along with their sired lines. A Bennett vampire cannot be permitted to live. So," Ayana's eyes narrowed as she pinned her with a glare, "in direct opposition of the wisdom which resides in our vast lineage, you have the absolute support of the Bennett line."

Esther clasped her hands together and brought the appendages to her chest. "Blessed be, Sister!"

"Gather your wits, Esther. Our support can only be extended in spirit. The Bennett line connection to the living still remains in disrepair. We can offer no magical intervention." Ayana warned.

Esther shook her head, and then reached across the table in gesture. When the ancient Bennett Witch only glared at the offered appendage in disdain, she allowed her palm to slap the table instead. "Fear not, Sister. Your spiritual support is all I require. Everything else, I already have in hand."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. And to add unfairness to poetic injustice, neither does the shows or the books. However, I still intend to pull the character's strings to make them dance, all while having a ball upsetting canon plot lines as I see fit!

                                                      

As Bonnie drove back to Mystic Falls, _Sure Thing_ hummed from the car’s speakers. Miguel’s sensually smooth pitch, filled the interior of her Prius. Although, she loved the song, her thoughts were centered on Abby and the unexplainable changes she’d undergone after transition. Fact was, her mother had died, yet she couldn’t definitively be labeled as the undead. Other than her need to ingest blood—Originals’ blood—there were no other characteristics cementing Abby in the category of vampire. She didn’t have their speed, fangs, strength or aversion to direct sunlight.

Okay, sure her mother was definitely stronger than a human, but not the average vampire. And to add ignorance to an inexplicable situation, Abby didn’t exude the usual vampire vibes that provoked Bonnie’s skin to slither over her muscles or caused her guts to twist inside out. In fact her magic didn’t so much as stir whenever she killed time with her mother. The healing warm Christmassy feeling of being with another Bennett Witch endured despite Abby’s infamous transition.

Another detail, which disturbed her, Abby’s dark magic remained intact and as potent as the night she died. It honestly didn’t make a bit of sense. Her mother no longer held a relationship to nature, yet she still wielded magic.

When it came to Abby Bennett Wilson, the rule book for supernaturals didn’t even begin to apply. She was an outlier no one anticipated, especially Jamie. One minute Abby was a huge chunk of his everything, and then by a dirty twist of fate she’d died to the world they’d once shared. Now there he floundered in an existence he hadn’t chosen. Surrounded by mythical monsters that had no place in his reality. There was no great mystery to why Jamie chucked deuces. The only question his leaving wrenched from her mind was, how soon would it be before Abby followed?

“You’re irresistible when you’re being pensive, little love. However, the adorable wrinkle between your brows informs me that your thoughts may dally a bit in the realm of troubling,” Kol said as his hand covered hers on the gear shift.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you,” she chanced a glance at him before returning her gaze to the road, “but I can’t stop thinking about Abby and all of the changes she’s gone through since transition. Not to mention her shifting moods, and the break down in her personality. I mean Elijah…Really?!”

He squeezed her hand. “Even if Niklaus drives a dagger into my heart when he sees me next, I fear the sight of Elijah and Abby rutting together will hunt me into desiccation.”

“If only I had time to come for Abby over all of her questionable decisions and things she’s kept from me since before she transitioned. Maybe then I’d have some type of idea on how to help her.” She snatched her hand from the gear shift to grip the steering wheel with both hands. “But, that’s crazy wishful thinking, right? Everybody and their preachers know, I haven’t had time for a single damn thing since my sophomore year.”

Nagging frustration stirred her magic into a swarming frenzy until wisps of her golden essence seeped from the tips of her fingers. The gilded mist swirled through the car in search of the source of her anger.

“Easy, little Love. We’ll discover a way to assist your mother,” he said, placing a hand on her thigh, and then giving it a little squeeze.

She shook her head, before side-eying him. “It’s not just Abby, Kol. We haven’t even had time to get into what’s happening between us. To understand this draw pulling me to you together.”

“We’ll have an ample amount of time to explore our attraction.” When he leaned over and pressed his cool lips to her neck, she damn near swerved into a lane of oncoming traffic. “You have my word. Also, have no more worries over Abby’s fate. Once we deal with this business of the link and white oak tree, I intend to take a jaunt to Hattiesburg.”

Bonnie blinked. “Mississippi?”

His head bobbed. “I’m familiar with a few witches there who practice the darkest of magic. If there is information to be found in regards to your mother’s condition their coven will be the one to supply the answers.”

“So you’re leaving.” Bonnie’s statement left her lips, matter of fact and dripping with curtness.

“Of course.”

Kol’s nonchalant admission knocked the magical fairy right out of her tale, in favor of bringing more reality to their unfolding fiction. And for the first time since he told her his name was Leo-something, she took a moment to catch her breath only to have fear snatch her air supply. What the hell was wrong with her? Jeremy and she had laid their relationship to rest in pieces not even two months before.

It had taken umpteen hours of tears, Mary J Blige, and several glasses of her dad’s Cognac to reconstruct what had been broken in result of loving the wrong damn person. So why the hell was she so willing to open herself again? Did she enjoy being nothing more than slivers and shards? Was jagged fragments meant to be her resting state?

The thought of reliving the pain of Jeremy’s betrayal with someone who affected her in ways her ex never could, instigated her knees to knock, before driving her to say, “maybe, we should pump brakes on whatever this is for a while. With everything going on-,”

“Rubbish,” he snapped, leaning forward to turn down Neyo’s _, Let Me Love You_. “Although we’ve only just met, I’d like to believe I somewhat understand you.”

“Yeah, you’d like to think,” she muttered.

Kol’s aura flared and to Bonnie’s utter disbelief, she sensed just a hint of his magic. Stunned she chanced a glance at his face in time to see annoyance tip-toe across his flawless features.

His voice rose an octave as he continued. “And if I’m correct in my assessment—which I usually am—then you’re the strongest person I know and your might has more to do with your strength of character in the face of oppressive situations than your sorcery.”

“Wow, thank you, Kol,” Bonnie said, folding her lips into something that felt sort of like a smile.

His gaze narrowed as he returned her half-hearted smile. “So why are you behaving like a bloody coward?”

“Say what now?” Her neck whipped around to bring her glare to his. “Did you just call me a coward?”

“No, I specifically said you’re behaving like one.” He continued watching her with a steady gaze.

She scoffed. “There’s a difference?”

“A blatant one.” He reached over to trace her jawline with his thumb. A tickle of something more than static electricity pricked her skin. “Fear may be your constant companion, yet your actions are fearless when in defense of those for whom you care. If only you could demonstrate even a tenth of that bravery on your own behalf, then the contemplation of you taking your leave of me would never have travelled across your mind.”

“Protecting myself from unnecessary pain isn’t cowardly, it’s self-preservation,” she countered.

“Self-preservation! From what?” When she only stared, he gawked. “Me? Why, you must know, I’m of no threat to you, little Love.”

“Not an intentional one, but neither was my ex and he managed to wreck me all the same.” Just thinking about the mess Jeremy made of them still stung a little.

“You’re speaking of the human to whom the doppelwench referred.”

Her face scrunched. Did he really just call Elena the _doppelwench_? Nope! She refused to check him for calling her best friend out her name. Not when Damon stayed settling her with nicknames that veered slightly in the lane of offensive. All while Elena stood-by with that overused dumb look on her face, and even worse—saying nothing. Call her small. One could even call her petty, but she chose to pick her battles. And if she went in every time somebody verbally came for Elena, then sleep would be out the damn window along with everything else she no longer had time to enjoy.

“Her younger brother Jeremy,” she answered, steering her Prius in the circular driveway of the mansion. “When we decided to be together, he promised to never hurt me. And for a while he held me down. He actually made me believe he cared about what happened to me.”

Her vision blurred, but she’d gouge her eyes from their sockets before she allowed one more tear to drop over Jeremy—just can’t keep it a hundred—Gilbert.

“What changed?” Kol reclaimed her hand once again, and even though they’d parked she still couldn’t seem to tear her watery gaze from the blurry windshield.

“The sheriff shot Jeremy on accident, and when he died I called upon the power of my ancestral line to help me bring him back.” She released a less than steady stream of air, and then worked on swallowing the—golf ball sized—knot wedged in her throat. “The spirits felt a way about me asking, yet they still helped me to bring him back. But there were consequences.”

“Magic’s favorite style of dress is often price tags, little love,” he murmured, while stroking her palm with the pad of his thumb.

“I know, but didn’t care. At the time I would’ve paid any price in order to once again have him at my side, breathing and healthy,” she paused to gulp down a belly full of air. “All my friends assumed I brought Jeremy back for Elena.” She shook her head, before pitching her gaze to their linked fingers. “I brought him back because I was tired of walking through life unseen and uncared for. He was the first person, aside from Grams, whoever really gave a shit about the nose bleeds or the blinding headaches casting too many hard core spells caused me.”

“And for that kindness he has my deepest gratitude,” Kol said lowering his head to press his lips to the back of her hand. “What led to you and him parting ways?”

“Poetic justice.” She laughed even though not a damn thing was funny. “You see, the consequence of bringing Jeremy back was him being able to see through the veil to the other side.”

“I’m not following. Why would his second sight prove as a fatal complication to your relationship?”

“Before Jeremy and I began, he dated a couple of female vampires he was legit in to. In both cases, those relationships came to a messy end at the point of a stake.” She shrugged.

Black veins writhed beneath Kol’s eyes as his vampire nature surfaced. “He bloody didn’t!” He hissed through clenched teeth and slightly lowered fangs.

“Yep.” Bonnie felt as if she were one shake away from shattering. “Jeremy found Ana’s mouth.” She rested her forehead on the steering wheel, when insecurity penetrated her mental. “And I’m sooo stupid and lame, because even after the half-truths and lies by omission, I would’ve forgiven him and taken him back in a hexing second, if I truly believed his apology was more about remorse over losing me than him feeling guilty for loving the last chick more than me.”

Kol reached out and slid the side of his index finger over her upper cheek. When he pulled his hand away she saw the salty liquid shame, which partially dampened the digit. Fuck! She thought she was done crying. When her reluctant stare finally found, her Original’s, she expected to see the same sympathetic sorrow always glinting Care and Elena’s eyes when they watched her on the sly.

What she didn’t expect her gaze to perceive in his mouthwatering chocolate browns was the glow of a quietly burning fury. If her magic hadn’t already claimed Kol as its own, she’d most definitely be pissing her panties, while ransacking her brain for protective spells.

“Request it of me and he’ll pay for his lies with his vocal chords, Bonnie,” he said as he unbuckled her seatbelt, and then pulled her from the driver’s seat to his lap. Once there he cuddled her close to his chest, before pressing a kiss to her temple.

Her lips trembled as she tried to smile. “Stop being extra. Leave Jeremy alone. He’s moved on,” she leaned away from him to stare into his, “and I’m beginning to think so have I. So disregard the tears. These are the last of them.”

“Your tears cost more than any supernatural or human being could afford to pay. Each drop is priceless. So never again ask of me to simply disregard them, my darling.”

He cradled her face in his hands, and then kissed her with more force than he’d ever shown during previous kisses. Almost as if he wanted desperately to convey something that just couldn’t be translated through the use of words.

When his tongue had thoroughly explored every smooth surface and crevice of her mouth and wrestled her own tongue into submission he gradually ended their kiss with several lip-smacking pecks before finally severing their intimate oral play. She groaned. After several thigh clenching minutes, he’d snatched her mind straight out of her head. All she wanted in that moment was to straddle him and grind herself to a soul stirring release on the impressive, but very intimidating bulge pressing into her left butt cheek.

“Little Love, I can’t promise to never hurt you. It would be sheer lunacy and an insult to your very brilliant mind to endeavor to do so.” Bonnie dropped her gaze to her hands, as disappointment took her down slow. His finger slipped under her chin and nudged her head upwards until her blurred stare met his earnest one. “But, what I can vow is to never deceive you and never hoist anyone above you in my affections. I will always defend you.” His lips brushed the corner of her mouth. “Protect you,” he lightly kissed the opposite corner of her mouth, “and be there for you whenever you have need of me. Especially, when you refuse to be present for yourself.”

Placing a hand on each of his cheeks, she rested her forehead on his. “Why?” She whispered.

“Because, when I first encountered you, my thoughts slithered like serpents in my brain. Nothing about this era made a bit of sense to me. Despite my vampire speed, I failed miserably at matching steps with this new world, and amongst all of those issues, my mother had managed to claw herself from her coffin to once more terrorize her children.”

He paused and seconds later his fingers were tangled in the hair at the back of her head. A swift tug caused her eyes to collide with her car ceiling. Before she could make a fuss about the slightly erotic hair pulling, moist lips and sharp teeth assaulted the side of her neck. She opened her mouth to lay his ass flat with the weight of a fully loaded read only to have a moan tumble out instead.

“The night you altered my life, I was at my lowest and most disillusioned state. One moment the world threatened to spin right off its axis and the next, there you sat. The very sight of you stopped my world from spinning,” he murmured between lazy pecks and nipping bites. “You make me feel adequate…like I’m enough. Yet I find myself wanting to be more than enough for you. Because you, Bonnie Bennett, are perfection and anything even remotely shy of that glowing quality is completely undeserving of your regard. And I want nothing more than to be worthy of you.”

The intensity of his admission squeezed almost all of the air from her lungs until she could barely breathe. “Kol, I don’t know if I can do this with you. I…I’m scared. You’re so…overwhelming.” Her voice came undone under the weight of her fears.

“My apology is yours to have and to hold, little love. It’s not my intent to overcome you with fear of the unknown, but do you honestly believe we still have a choice in this matter? We’ve stepped off of the precipice. And even now as we tumble head first into the abyss, there’s just no circumstance in which we can choose to unfall.” He stroked the length of her spine, curiously radiating warmth throughout her back with his very cool fingers. “I’m afraid we’ve descended way beyond the point of concession. Even now as we speak I can hear my blood singing from the deepest depths of your body.”

Kol was right. They’d reached and passed the point of no return the morning she decided to invite him in and he chose to cross the threshold. And yes…she too could feel her essence working tirelessly within him to repair the mess had Esther made when she attempted to cast the immortal spell on him and his siblings. Her magic was literally invested in him. She couldn’t turn tail even if she wanted. Although, there was no other place in the world she’d rather be than at Kol Mikaelson’s side.

“Besides.” He wrenched her from her thoughts with another kiss that damn near singed her lips. “You made me a promise the night we met, and you must know I fully intend to hold you to your word.”

She released an exaggerated sigh as she forced herself not to grin like a, country dumb, idiot. “Exactly, what promise are you expecting a—drunk off her ass—teenager to keep?”

His hands left her back to cradle her face. With short gentle brushes, he stroked her cheeks. “You said you wouldn’t let go and I distinctively remember you being more nauseated than inebriated when gave your word, little love.”

“And what type of witch refuses to keep her word?”

He stopped her heart with a smile. “Definitely not a Bennett Witch.”

“Definitely not,” she uttered before her lips captured his.

* * *

 

“You told me Finn would be here and all I’d have to do was show!” Sage railed, while pacing the expanse of the pale yellow tea room. “So I jump on the first flight out of Montenegro. Spend almost a total of twenty-two hours on three different planes in—got damn—coach, by the way. Wedged between a screaming infant, the world’s oldest human, and a handsy Silicon Valley reject.”

Rebekah’s nose wrinkled. “Why the bloody hell didn’t you just charter a plane?”

Sage glowered briefly at the blonde Original, before continuing. “Only to arrive on your shitty welcome mat and be told the love of my existence isn’t here. But wait,” she bellowed, raising her hands in front of her, palms out. “That’s not all folks. Then you inform me the only way you will allow me to see Finn is if I fuck Damon—freaking—Salvatore, while you-,”

“Careful, love,” Klaus warned, before lifting a tumbler filled with the John Walker to his lips.

“While you damned _Originals_ ,” Sage hissed as she misplaced her shit all over his, tan and gold hand knotted Indian, rug. “Search his home.”

A smirk tugged at the corner of Bekah’s mouth. “Much better, dear. It appears you’re a quick wit on your feet. Which is surprising since you spent a better part of your human experience, laboring away on your back. Tell me, Nik. Wasn’t she the one who infested Kol’s naughty bits with parasites?”

“Absolutely not, Rebekah.” His eyebrows rose to greet his hairline, while his lips twitched in attempts to resist the smirk, which so often plagued his mouth. “Filthy Avice is the whore who burdened our brother with his infamous pest problem. Sage’s fire crotch, merely turned Kol’s urine to flames and filled his John Thomas with green goo.”

Sage’s shoulder bobbed once in a disinterested shrug. “That was over a thousand years ago. And news, fucking, flash—Mikael gave it to me! So I figured, hey why not give it to Kol and spread the love among the Mikaelson clan?”

“Classy,” Rebekah drawled with her nose buried in one of her bloody fashion magazines.

Sage swung an amused stare to his sister. “Yes, and I’m able to pull it together without even trying, Beks.” Her regard returned to him. “I’m not fucking Damon Salvatore.”

“Why the devil not? We both know you’ve shagged worse,” Rebekah snapped, finally looking up from her blasted magazine. “The elder Salvatore knows his way around a California king. His prowess would even weaken your jaded knees.”

The smuggest of grins laid claim to Sage’s mouth. “Enjoyed the ride, did you? You’re welcome. I taught Damon every move, stroke and tongue twisting thing he knows. Truth is, the magic show is only magical when you don’t know what’s behind the curtains. And guess who hung the damned things.”

Niklaus considered the spirited garnet haired beauty standing before him. She was the only human his eldest brother had ever turned, and for nigh a century, he and his siblings were unaware of her. The former whore finally revealed herself two years after he’d daggered Finn. The impertinent doxy had the cheek to demand he relinquish his older sibling into her care. Had he not been felled by the blow of her existence, he would’ve compelled the mindless twit to free her heart from her breast. Leave it to the dullard Finn to abscond his title as creator of the first second generation vampire.

“Oh, alright,” Rebekah said, slamming the magazine shut. “I’ll lie with Damon, while you search the boarding house for those records.”

“Wrong.” Sage stalked towards them, stopping at what she perceived as a safe distance. His brows shot north in mockery. Even after a thousand years of an undead existence, Sage remained obscenely soft in the brain. The chit could bloody be well across the Pacific and still not find security or safety in distance if he had a mind to pursue. “I bet neither of you even knows where to find Finn.” Her scrutiny found them through narrowed lids. Once she concluded her assessment, the muscle in her jaw twitched. “I’ll play no part in your plots. Finn’s probably safer wherever the hell he’s decided to lay his head.”

“Your impulsivity is unbecoming, love. Sit, relax, have a drink. When’s the last time you tapped an artery?” He asked, sliding an arm across the pale gold silk chenille covering the top of the loveseat. “Bekah, wouldn’t you say Sage appears a bit ashen around the edges?”

“Practically sallow, brother,” Rebekah agreed as a wicked grin warped her lips.

With great ease and Original speed, he rose from the sofa, and then zipped to the flaming haired vampire’s side. He stared directly into her eyes without the intent of compulsion. He could practically see the vervain stench waves rising from her pores. Fear finally chipped away the lackluster indifference in her lime toned irises. He pressed his lips together to staunch the smirk so obsessively mesmerized by his mouth. While his wolf became rather smug in the face of the Sage’s inevitable submission.

“Dearest, Sage. We may not know where Finn is at present, but please trust, we will find him. So attend me well when I say, you can either cooperate with us and be reunited with your beloved or you can spurn our request for assistance and spend another nine hundred years alone wrestling alligators in the Florida Keys. All while reminiscing on the days when Finn wasn’t daggered in a box.” He offered her a smile tainted with a dash of threat and a mountain of promise, while tucking a blazing curl behind her ear. “So what will it be, love? The carrot or the stick?”

She lifted her chin, taking a final run at defiance. “How the hell do you plan on finding him?” She inquired just as the bloody Bennett Witch waltzed into the room hand in hand with Kol.

The familiar stinging sensation from whips of her potent magic lashed at his skin, and sought to plunder his mind. He raised a mental barrier to secure his thoughts, while noting the audacity of her intimidation tactics. Being in the presence of the insufferable teen witch, always set his teeth on edge. After he’d sent Esther back to hell, and shoved Kol back in a box, he planned to make another go at removing every molecule of oxygen from the little witch’s blasted lungs.

“Slicing the dagger a tad close aren’t we, baby Brother?” He demanded of Kol, while fastening an icy glare on the tiny viper at his side. A frown arrested his features as he scoured hers. Had she been crying?

“What the sodding hell is Typhoid Mary doing here, Nik?” Kol questioned, dropping the little shrew’s hand to snake a possessive arm around her narrow waist.

The distress on his baby brother’s face thoroughly diluted his growing ire, and relaxed his puckered lips. “Why, Sage has agreed to assist us with our Salvatore dilemma, baby brother.”

“What Salvatore dilemma?” The little witch asked, swinging her glance from him to Kol.

“Well of course,” Kol spat. “You would enlist the assistance of the diseased whore who nearly sent me to a premature grave, permanently. Had it not been for our bitch of a mother, I would’ve never endured to see my twentieth summer.”  

He waved away his brother’s accusations with a flick of the wrist. “Bygones, little brother.”

“BYGONES!” Kol jabbed a finger at Sage. “Her fiery overused hole nearly slew me and your only response to my charges are bygones!”

“In an attempt to balance the scales,” Rebekah interjected as mischief sparked from her eyes and lit her face. “Before you entered her hovel I did shout—quite clearly if I might add—fire in the hole.”

He and the little witch snorted, and shared an involuntary moment of amusement with the briefest of stares. After mere seconds, she cast her gaze away.

“Oh shut it, Rebekah. Back then, you were always toddling about bellowing out absurdities. I can recall three separate occasions Ayana and mother had to intervene to prevent the villagers from burning you at the witch’s stake in the center of the marketplace,” Kol said, leading the little witch further into the room.

“Will it make you feel any better to know father’s the one who bestowed the affliction on Sage?” Rebekah inquired with a, beyond reproach, solemn expression.

“Great hairy bullocks!” Kol hissed back at her. “Do you seriously believe it would make me feel better to know Mikael is ultimately responsible for setting my cock on fire and filling it with green sludge? Are you truly daft, Rebekah?”

“The hell!” The little witch said stepping out of Kol’s hold.

Their sister dissolved into a fit of cackles as Sage settled into an armchair, while nursing the drink he’d abandoned with a smirk perched on her lips.

“Worry not, little Love. I haven’t suffered from such ailments since transition,” his brother said as he dragged the witch’s reluctant frame back into the circle of his arms.

“But wouldn’t that make the infection undead too?” She insisted, as disgust screwed her nonsensically asymmetrical features.

Kol clucked his tongue. “Honestly, I have no idea. Ayana cured me months before father killed me.”

Kol reached for her again and she slapped his hands away. A pout tooted his lips, and the silly little witch fell victim to his little brother’s duplicity like all the other mentally challenged prey who preceded her. Once he had her secured in his embrace, he nuzzled her neck, while whispering something in her ear. After a few moments of struggling, she laughed and smacked him on the chest. The sight they presented locked his muscles and enraged the beastly side of him. Spinning on his heel, he headed for the crystal decanter of whiskey at the wet bar.

“Enough,” he barked over his shoulder. “What say you, Witch? Will you willingly unlink me and my siblings or will you have to be…convinced?”

“It’s on the agenda, but first I’m gonna need you to tell me about this Salvatore dilemma,” she said, removing her carpet bag from across her body and dropping the oversized holdall next to a tan utility boot. Exactly, what in the bleeding hell did the young Bennett witch have against heels?

“Why do you need to know? So you can hurry away to tell your sniveling little friends?” Rebekah’s haughty glare collided with the witch. “Not a bloody chance!”

The little witch folded her arms under her small, but cleverly rounded bosom. “Fine, but if this so called dilemma has anything to do with the latest White Oak tree, then you need to stop wasting my damn time and let me know something right now. Besides, I’ve already had the chance to return your ashes back to the ground. Let’s not forget that if it wasn’t for me, all of your Original asses would be killing time on the other side right now.”

Rebekah opened her mouth, and then clamped it closed. Sage arched a flaming brow in interest, but maintained her silence.

“ _Kol,_ ” he said.

“Hoard your words, Nik. Bonnie and I are of a like mind. We have no secrets,” Kol said.

He ran a critical glance of over the Bennett Witch and before he could come to a conclusion an image of her grinding in his lap exploded his reality and tossed him back into his nightmare. Raucous drums and mechanical instruments banged out an incessant rhythm, which smothered his sense of sound, and before he could be completely undone by the vision, reality reinstated itself.

“Are you humming, No Hands by Waka Flocka?” The little witch half laughed and scoffed.

“Nik, stop being a blithering moron and explain your strategy on acquiring the location of that sodding tree.” Kol snapped, all while impaling him with a knowing glare.

Still shaken by the image, he could only manage to open and close his mouth, while lacking the capability to make even a sound.

Rebekah exhaled an exaggerated sigh. “Oh for the love of blood and stiletto red bottoms! I’m going to allow Damon to bloody seduce me, while Sage searches the Salvatore shipping records for information on the sale of lumber from the White Oak.”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” The witch buried her face in the palms of her hands as she uttered several profane words more fitting of dockside harlot. “You do realize, if Damon finds out about those records you’re all screwed, right? And you,” her scrutiny swung to Sage, “have you ever even been inside of the Salvatores’ boarding house?”

Sage shook her head with wide amused eyes. “Honey, I haven’t vacationed in Mystic Falls in almost a hundred years. And when I was here last, I didn’t exactly get off on going home with vampires who slaughtered innocent wild life and pretended to be human when no one was watching.”

Rebekah shot him an, I told you so, look.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen. Since I spend more time at the boarding house than I like, Kol and I will help Sage to search the house while Rebekah keeps Damon um…occupied.”

Bekah preened as steam threatened to burst from his ears. Just who the bloody hell did this, Thumbelina sized, witch think she was, storming in and ordering about thousand year old vampires? Her gall was reckless, suicidal even! Oddly enough however, her taking of liberties prompted his prick to twitch. If only she hadn’t attempted to kill him, then maybe…

“And what of Stefan?” Rebekah questioned.

“Leave the bunny sucking pacifist to me, baby sister,” Kol said with an all too recognizable malicious gleam in his eyes. When the Bennett witch’s gaze narrowed, his baby brother gave her an innocent wide-eyed stare. A milk maid couldn’t have looked anymore unassuming. “My intent is only to incapacitate, little love.”

Niklaus’ eyes rolled before he could stop the damned things.

“Let me guess, you have an issue with my plan,” the impertinent, pint sized, shrew demanded of him.

“Quite on the contrary, little witch,” he murmured, before taking a generous gulp of his blended whiskey. “I find your additions to be as effective as an accelerant is to an open flame. Now, about that locator spell.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: *Warning: This update contains sexual content. If you decide to skip this one I completely understand and hope to see you next update.* 
> 
> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. And to add unfairness to poetic injustice, neither does the shows or the books. However, I still intend to pull the characters' strings and make them dance, all while having a ball upsetting canon plot lines!

The moans Kol elicited from his little mate as he nibbled on her ear lobe chipped pieces away from his restraint. The taste of her skin retold tales about the sweet richness of her magical life force. What he wouldn’t give to sink his fangs into her luscious thigh just once more. To feel her squirm within his grasp as she slid ever closer to the beginning of her end. Lose himself to the thickening scent of her arousal, while his fingers readied her for—bloody hell! He had to have her. That sodding tree be damned! If he died that night, then he’d do so merrily buried knackers deep in her enchanting little undercarriage.

 

“Holy Daenerys! The lights on the second floor of the boarding house just turned off,” she squeaked, snatching her sweet flesh from the prison of his teeth. “Let’s go. There’s no telling how much time we have with them being vampires. Hell, they’re probably already done,” she mumbled as she opened the automobile door and quite literally tumbled from his lap.

“Little Love!” To his absolute horror she lay sprawled on her back in grassy muddy overgrowth. “Were you harmed?”

“I’m fine,” she growled, while climbing to her feet. “The first step was just a ratchet bitch.”

With great vigor, she beat at the seat of her trousers in an attempt to relieve the denim material of mud stains, but her endeavor was completely in vain. Due to divinity intervening, his enchanting goddess would never again slip her beautifully rounded backend into those unbecoming shapeless slacks. Once he dispatched Esther and his family’s survival was secured, he’d make arrangements for his mate to visit the most brilliant dressmaker the era had to offer.

Several seconds later she relinquished the battle on salvaging her garments. “Fuck it, let’s find those records, before mud isn’t the only thing I have to worry about being on my ass.”

She spun on her heel and nearly planted her face in the very same grassy mud puddle, which assaulted her moments before. Her arms flailed about in search of something sturdy to grasp, but found nothing except air for her troubles. At Original velocity, he slid from the automobile, and then took hold of her elbow in attempts to steady her. Once her balance discovered stability, he guided his little love from the saturated soil. With great care he led her towards the edge of the paved street right across from the boarding house.

Gratitude robbed her lovely unconventional features of annoyance. The softness of her palm slipped in his, before leading him across the road and down the curving driveway of the Salvatore residence. They arrived at the front door in time to see the towns, drunken trollops almost bloody ruin everything.

“Krysta, wait!” His mate hissed. “Don’t you dare ring that damn bell.”

The short brunette’s face brightened when she cast her gaze on Bonnie. “Bon! Did Becks invite you too?”

“What?” Bonnie blinked, before her gaze bounced between the two harlots. “Rebekah invited the two of you here?” She pierced him with a pointed glare.

“Yes,” the brunette bobbed her head.

“Not exactly,” the blonde admitted, with a shrug that was of the nonchalant variety. “We crashed the bridge ceremony this afternoon,” she paused to skewer the drunken brunette with a glare, “Krys claimed someone told her there would be an open bar.”

“There was an open bar,” the tiny brunette folded her arms under slightly too large breasts.

“Serving lemonade and ice tea, Krys.”

“So?” The brunette lifted her chin. “Free chasers.”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “Can you imagine what being there would’ve been like if we hadn’t smuggled in our own bottles of Jack?” the tall blonde managed to ground out through the clench of her teeth. When the hollow headed brunette only offered an empty stare in response, the blonde sighed before returning her regard to his mate. “While, there I overheard Hottie El Salvatore tell Rebekah he was having a get together. A get together? Who the hell is he, one of the Golden Girls?” She snorted. “Everyone knows only walking fossils get turnt at those.”

“He’d be so pegged if we didn’t have his back,” Krysta grinned.

His mate’s slit eyed glare flared, before swinging between the loathsome twosomes. “What’d you two do?”

“We brought the party, be-etch,” The two dim-wits yelled in unison.

“You did wha-,”

Before his little love could finish her sentence, random vehicles began turning into the boarding house’s entrance. When the curved paved driveway reached its capacity, the automobiles started using the grass for vehicle storage. Senior youths climbed from their transportations screeching nonsense. Some carried metal barrels, while others hauled sturdy plastic containers and paper boxes filled with aluminum cans.

If Salvatore hadn’t heard the stampede of adolescents, and the banging of multiple instruments crashing together from a variety of music genres, he was either the first vampire to have a hearing impairment or his baby sister possessed talents, which made him severely too ill to contemplate.

“Look, Bon. Sexy D left the door open. We don’t even have to ring the bell now,” the dullard brunette said, her grin borderline crazed.  

“We’re so fucking done. There’s no way to do this now without anyone getting hurt, Kol,” his mate muttered as she followed the little twit into the foyer, while casting anxious glances towards the top of the staircase.

He slowly swung his head from side to side as a notion began to take shape. “No…not necessarily. Chaos breeds distraction, little love.”

Doubt tainted her eyes, before she swung her gaze once more to the second level of the house. Kol released a haggard sigh. His mate should really release any trepidations she may have of the elder Salvatore. For if worse case scenarios had their way and they were discovered, he’d simply rip the infantile vampire’s head from his shoulders, and then sought out the ledgers at his leisure.

A streak of flaming red zipped down the stairs, and halted two steps from the bottom. “What the hell’s this?” Sage demanded in a whispered screech, which was absolutely unnecessary. Even if the doxy screamed her bloody head off, her added uproar wouldn’t have made a sodding difference in the midst of all the clamoring commotion already underway.

“An unforeseen variable we’re more than equip to handle,” he allowed his gaze to roam over the gyrating humans filling the foyer as he tuned his ear for any movement on the second level of the house, “Now where’s the younger Salvatore? I mean to make short work of him so I can lend my assistance to the search.”

“He’s not here,” Sage said, training her gaze on the bouncing simpletons, otherwise known as Samantha and Krysta. Who, were incidentally, jerking their way towards the open parlor. “Damon sent him away. He didn’t want Stefan distracting Rebekah.” She scoffed. “The greedy bastard actually thought he was gonna get a threesome.”

“Well the bugger may very well get his wish,” he growled as he heard the rapid feather light pats of bare feet moving at super human speed. “He’s on his way down. Make sure he’s thoroughly distracted. The task shouldn’t be too difficult. As I recall, your flaming hell hole can be quite diverting. Although, the after burn is a bloody bitch.” The tiniest of vessels popped in his brain. “Sodding hell!” His eyes flared as they swung to his witch.

“Keep playing with it, Kol. Your pecker won’t be the only damn thing that’s burning,” his little love hissed as verdant sparks practically leaped from her emerald jade toned eyes.

Just when he presumed it wasn’t possible to crave his goddess any more, she set off and made herself beyond irresistible. Before he could contemplate plundering her mouth, the elder Salvatore was mere seconds from being upon them. He speared Sage with a glower, snatched Bonnie into a protective embrace, and then melted into the shadows under the stairs.

“Sage, tell me you didn’t compel Mystic Falls High senior class?” Salvatore questioned, his tone idiotically playful. “If you’re bored, why not play with me and Barbie Klaus?”

“You’re the one who sounds bored, sweetie,” Sage countered. “What’s the matter, Damon? Is Bekah a little bland for your taste? Would you like to put a little Sage on your unseasoned Original?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely! Lead the way, and I’ll try to keep the situation in my Calvin Klein’s from getting sticky.” Salvatore’s voice began to grow distant.

“Please.” Sage snorted. “We both know there is no Calvin Klein’s.”

“Busted.” Salvatore laughed, before Kol heard the click of a closing door.

“It’s just like Damon to leave this mess for Stefan to clean up,” his little love said as they stepped back into the walkway of the foyer.

“Where do you fathom he’d keep the lumber records?” The little exchange between Sage and Salvatore had incited his homicidal tendencies.

If he didn’t do something productive, then he’d act on those propensities. Salvatore would be the first to fall victim to his sadistic nature. The parlor full of aspiring post pubescent youths would be next. It had been an age since he’d gorged on the hopeful.

“Who the hell knows? Shit!” His mate’s frustrated growl drew him from his darkening thoughts. A sigh crept from her crooked little mouth as her gaze reclaimed his. “They’re probably in the library. Everything’s in that got damn library,” she muttered, before spinning on her heel to walk deeper into the boarding house.

Afore, trailing after her, Kol took hold of Samantha’s forearm as she passed. He then stared directly in her pupils. “When Salvatore comes back down, make sure he’s entirely preoccupied even if you have to offer up, your…” he allowed his stare to wander over her person from head to heeled toe, “charms or an artery, whichever he fancies is sufficient. It matters not.”

“Ewe.” The uncouth strumpet yanked her arm away. “Hands off, Pervy Pendragon. My be-otch Beks is into the hottest Salvatore. Besides, I heard Dullena’s seconds are super sloppy.” She dealt him a smirk bred solely from contempt, before strutting away.

His glare narrowed and severely altered his field of vision. Who in the sodding hell provided that dirty bird with the benefits of vervain? His eyes then rolled to consider the ceiling. Bloody Bekah!

Kol whirled away from the juvenile delinquents congregating in the open parlor room. He tracked his mate’s glorious scent to the library. Upon entrance into the room, he found her standing over a mahogany wood table. The surface was covered in piles of open ledgers as she chant with her eyes closed. Her golden aura flared around her, and poured from her hands as all the pages in the in the leather bound books flipped at the behest of his beautiful sorceress’ will. She was jaw dropping. Powerful. Brilliant. And His.

“Stop being a dirty old creeper, Mikaelson,” she said, opening an eye to peer at him as a wicked grin twisted the corner of her mouth. “There are more records on the second level. Be good Original and bring them down.”

“Careful, this dirty old creeper is not opposed to turning you over his knee, little love,” he said, before turning to climb the steps.

“Promises, promises,” he heard her mutter.

A smirk took possession of his mouth as he imagined proving to her repeatedly, he was an Original of his word. When he finally worshiped every inch of her body with just the tip of his tongue, she’d beg him to conclude her sweet suffering and he’d only laugh before shoving her even further pass her sexual limits. _Focus you blithering arse! Ledgers now, the seduction of the exquisite Bennett Witch later_ , Niklaus’ nasally tone reverberated off the walls of his mind.

“Hot slutty damn!” His little love cried. “I found it, Kol. I found the White Oak tree.”

“Bon-Bon, well aren’t you the witchy surprise? You haven’t happened to seen a copy of, _A Kama Sutra’s Guide to a Three Way_ , lying around by chance?”

Bloody hell! What happened to Sage distracting the sodding wanker? The sound of Salvatore’s snide slurring voice had him zipping towards the stairs. Halfway down Bonnie gave him a pointed stare with a subtle shake of the head. Against his superior judgement, he remained concealed from sight. He allowed his witch to pilot the hastily deteriorating predicament.

“So is this how you’re doing it, Damon,” his witch snarled as she waved her hand and sent a variety of books flying from bookshelves to draw the younger vampire’s attention from the second level of the library. “First you kill my mother, and then you throw a fucking party?”

“What? You think I’m responsible for this corny reenactment of _House Party, 2011: The Vanilla Edition_?” The shirtless Salvatore scoffed. “Please, if this shin-dig was hosted by _moi_ , the house would be flooded with Tri-Delts and not snot-nosed teenagers dripping Pro-Active all over the furniture. Oh, and I didn’t kill mommy dearest, FYI. The pleasure was all hers.”

The insolent little sod then had the audacity to stride forward. In doing so he greedily subtracted several feet from Bonnie’s personal space. Her magic blazed a brilliance, which rivaled the sun. Golden flames whipped around Salvatore, forcing him to take a step back. The toddling vampire maintained his outward calm, but Kol’s Original olfactory senses didn’t miss the slight stench of fear.

Bonnie shoved her index finger in his face. “Abby may have had an active role in her death, but we both know damn well your intent to kill one of us was premeditated. So what if your hands weren’t the ones to snap her neck. You, Stefan, and Elijah are responsible just the same.”

Salvatore snarled. “Fucking, Elijah,” he hissed, pressing forward consequences be damned. He didn’t bloody stop until he had Bonnie caged between himself and the table edge. The scent of burning flesh clawed at his nostrils. “Fucking Elena. Fucking Elijah and Elena! The thought implodes my brain. To think she could’ve…I mean…do you think she could’ve?”

Bonnie’s neck jerked back as if she’d taken a blow to the noggin. She stared at Salvatore as if he’d just escaped Bedlams bare assed, all while yelling the end was near. “Are you really asking me about Elena right now?” She questioned, appearing unconcerned by the sizzling sounds her sorcery made as it slowly burned layers of skin from his bared chest.

Unwittingly, Salvatore courted death when he angled his mouth next to Bonnie’s ear and whispered. His efforts maintaining secrecy, were pointless. Kol heard every single syllable the bleeding sodder uttered. “We should just forget about Elena and rely on what history has taught us, Bons.”

“Which is?”

“Doppelgangers spells seriously bad juju for the Salvatores and Bennetts. Instead of letting the past spin on repeat, maybe we should—wait, what the hell is this behind your back?” He questioned, wrestling the ledger from his witch’s grasp. Once in hand, he skimmed the pages before his gaze returned to hers. “Why’re you snooping through my family’s old lumber records?”

“Would you believe me if I said wood turns me on?” She questioned with a cleverly arched brow.

The Elder Salvatore shed his human mask for his true vampire face, and lunged for Bonnie with his fangs bared. No longer willing to abide by his witch’s wishes, he zipped down the steps. Right before Salvatore’s hand wrapped around his little love’s neck, he grabbed the extended extremity and snapped the bone. With a wicked grin and for good measure he broke the ulna in the opposite forearm.

“Attempt to touch my mate again and I’ll separate those bleeding hands from those sodding wrists next time, darling.” When Salvatore attempted to open his mouth undoubtedly for an impertinent response, he twisted the wanker’s neck until he heard the bloody pop.

Not done, Kol slammed a wooden chair on the table, and then confiscated a fragment of a chair leg. To hell with the bloody threats, Salvatore was a blight on his witch’s life. Sending the bugger to the other side would be best for all involved.

“Drop it, Kol,” his little love said. “He’s not worth the aggravation his death would provoke. Besides,” she stooped down to snatch the ledger from Salvatore’s dead grasp, and then raised it triumphantly over her head, “we have another bridge to burn.”

* * *

 

Damon reanimated with a splitting headache and a blurry vision that sported to sets of every damn thing. If he didn’t know any better he’d swear he was back in 1862 and he’d just drunk himself through half of Giuseppe’s private stock. His hand flew to his head to massage his throbbing temple as he ordered his thoughts. The blended scent of vanilla, coconuts, and a hint of white roses violated his nostrils with a bold as shit intent. Bonnie—fucking—Bennett!

“I take it the Sage and Rebekah sex sandwich didn’t pop the way you expected,” Stefan’s voice slammed against his eardrums and caused his damn head to pound.

He pulled himself into a sitting position. “What gave it away, Inspector Dick?”

“I think it was the drunk couple from my second period English class, dry humping in the foyer. Or it could’ve just as easily been the barely conscious Samantha and Krysta who are currently topless and sway dancing on the bar,” Stefan said, while sifting through all the open lumber books on the table in the center of the library. “What’s the matter, Damon? Tired of partying with the Tri-Delts already? Are you finding Mystic Falls’ senior class more relatable?” Stefan cleaned his clock with a smug look. “Looks like you’ve found your rock bottom, brother. Those jagged sharp edges are a bitch, aren’t they?”

“Go suck a rabbit, Stefan.” Damon climbed to his feet, and then squeezed his eyes shut, while waiting for the room to stop spinning. “Those ancient bitches set me up, and inquiring minds wanna know why.”

“Nice.” Stefan began closing the ledgers. “They swerve your ass and you automatically jump to the conclusion, they’re setting you up. It could just as easily be your sex game.”

“Being on the wagon has made you delirious, brother. My dick play is vicious. Just ask Caroline. She’s always giving me those dry mouth looks when she thinks no one’s watching. And be the first to get this piping hot off the press—the eyes in the back of my head are twenty-twenty. So feel free to pass that little tid-bit along to your replacement Lexy doll.” He raked his fingers through his hair, and then began to pace the library. His mind ran a damn marathon over the moments before the Original serial killer snapped his neck. “By the way, Stefan. You’re insight on all of this is no more useful than nipple clamps and a box Trojans tossed into a convent. Bonnie was here!”

Confusion drew his brother’s waxed brows together. “Bennett?”

“No, Stefan. I’m talking about your boyfriend Thumper.” Sarcasm oozed from both sides of his mouth. “Of course Bennett, you idiot.”

“Is she the one who trashed the library?” He asked, waving at the ledgers littering the table and floor.

“Walked in on her talking to herself,” he said as his pacing came to an abrupt stop. “At least I thought she was talking to herself. That’s until her deranged stalker came out of nowhere to snap my wrists and neck.”

“What the hell were they looking for in here?”

Damon shrugged as he concentrated on remembering Bennett’s exact words. “She was yelling something about finding a White Oak?”

“The tree?” Stefan’s eyes bulged.

“Well she _was_ here snooping through old dusty lumber ledgers, Stefan. I’m more than 99.9% sure she was referring to a damn tree.”

“Damon, you moron. The White Oak is the only wood that can kill an Original.” Stefan gave him a dirty look before picking up ledgers from the table and flipping through the worn brown pages. “Do you even listen to Elena when she speaks or just fantasize while watching her mouth move?”

“Don’t waste your eternity brother,” he said, purposely ignoring his brother’s dig about Elena. “Bonnie took the records that held details of the White Oak.”

He turned and headed for the second floor of the library.

“Give yourself a slap on the back, Damon. You’ve managed to hammer another nail in Elena’s coffin,” Stefan said, while looking like he couldn’t wait to run and tell Elena how his dip shit of an older brother once again screwed it all to hell.

A smirk stretched Damon’s bottom lip. “Keep your horses under the hood, brother. Giuseppe was a horrible husband, with the temperament of Joe Jackson when it came to child rearing, and an even worse businessman. Don’t you remember how his business partner Franklin Donovan sold his plantation three years before the war even started?”

“It was a miracle father was able remain afloat,” Stefan said as he followed him to the second floor.

“Miracles only live in Fairy Tales, Stefan,” he said, as he approached a life sized portrait of Robert E. Lee. “And if they were ever able to escape the confines of their pixie dusted pages our father would still never know the warmth of divine intervention. The only heat Giuseppe Salvatore was ever destined to feel is the searing burn from a hell blaze.”

“Then how else did our father maintain the family’s fortune during the war, while all of our neighbors became destitute?” Stefan glowered at the portrait.

Damon only smiled. He could dine for an eternity on his little brother’s naivety. With a tiny shake of the head, he swung the painting away to reveal a safe, six feet in length and width. At vamp speed, he spun the large silver ring, until the lock clicked. He then pulled the safe door open to reveal identical ledgers to the ones scattered all over the first floor.

“Father maintained, because he hid profits from his business partners. I’ll give you three guesses on how he was able to do so. Even if only two percent of your—Bambi loving—brain is functioning, you’ll only need one,” he said, allowing his smirk to blossom into a knowing grin.

Knowledge flooded Stefan’s face and dropped his chiseled hero jaw. “Father kept double books!”

“And the cheating bastard was thorough,” he confirmed with the bob of his head. “Now, how about we find the solution to our Original problem?”

* * *

 

“I can’t bloody believe you allowed those two dullards to upset a well plotted plan,” Kol grumbled as he emptied the last can of gasoline on Wickery Bridge, while shooting visual hate makers at Rebekah. His dagger hurling glare shot to Sage. “And you were supposed to keep him distracted.”

“He kept going on about a stupid book,” Sage snapped. “What the fuck did you want me to do, tie him to the damn bed?”

“Well it would’ve been bloody appropriate, now wouldn’t it?” Kol snarled, while tossing the empty gasoline can in the take away pile.

Unfazed, Rebekah rolled her eyes. “Was the plan upset, _Kol_? _Really_? Because despite Sam and Krys’ clever idea to crash the boarding house with a party, we’ve still managed to find ourselves about to set fire to the only thing in this world, which can truly kill us.”

“Enough of this bickering. It’s petty,” Sage said, approaching the bridge as she slapped her palms over her jean pockets. “The sooner we burn this damn bridge, the sooner I can reunite with Finn.” After several more seconds of beating at her pockets, a frown bunch together Sage’s features. “Damn it! Did anybody bring a lighter?” When they only stared, her flaming eyebrows climbed several inches higher on her forehead. “Matches?” She tried again with a hopeful lilt edging her tone.

“Vampires are flammable, Sage! Why in the devil would we be wandering about with a lighter or matches?” Rebekah snapped. “We might as well suck on a lit cigar while being sprayed with ethanol.”

“So what the hell-,” Sage began.

“Insignia.” Bonnie’s magic shot from her center to snugly encompass her vocal chords.

The power in the word pulsed against her lips, before the bridge erupted in flames. Relief and satisfaction overran her senses as the blaze rapidly ate away the dry rotted wood. A week ago she would’ve considered the burning of the last White Oak an epic fail, but since fate stepped in and twisted shit by planting Kol Mikaelson in her way, failure felt more like a fucking win. However, her moment of triumph two-stepped out of her grasp, at the appearance of Damon’s head lights.

Soon as the Camaro parked, Damon and Stefan climbed from the car, both having the damn nerve to drill her with looks of the betrayed. As if her and Abby’s name wasn’t just parlaying at the top of their kill list.

“I should’ve fucking drained you when I had the chance, Bennett,” Damon growled, while having the balls to flash fangs at her.

She lifted her chin as she drove Damon to his knees with multi-vessel bursting aneurysms. “Don’t you dare threaten me with a good time and think I’m not up to give you one, Salvatore. Now you can put away your fangs and use your words or I can make you scream. After the stunt you pulled with Abby, guess which option I’m hoping you’ll choose.”

“Would you fancy his tiny shriveled heart as a trinket, little love?” Kol offered as he gifted the Salvatores with one of his signature narrowed-eyed smirks. “Request it of me and I shall lay the useless organ at your feet.”

She pretended to think about it, and then shook her head. “Nah, I’m good. A girl can get a rash wearing something as fake as Damon’s heart.”

Stefan placed his body in front Damon’s. “Bonnie, what the hell do they have on you?”

“Don’t be an arse, Stefan. That’s Damon’s role to play,” Rebekah snapped. Her bitchatude present and accounted. “Honestly, do you believe the Bennett Witch will allow anyone other than the lot of you to shove her about?”

Stefan didn’t spare Rebekah a glance, instead his gaze remained steady on her. “Long as Klaus walks on this side of the veil, Elena will never have a normal life, Bonnie.”

“Stefan, please.” She waved his words away with a flapping hand. “Elena’s chance at a normal life skipped out the door the moment you told her your name.”

“I love her!” He insisted with a conviction that was borderline religious.

“Yeah, I’m sure you do, Stefan.” She shook her head. His love for Elena had almost put her in the ground. “But clearly not enough to respect and protect the ones who matter to her. Answer me this. What if the night Elijah took Elena, we found ourselves in a room. Just you, me, and no other options…would you really have killed me to save Elena?” His guilt betrayed his thoughts long before his mouth had a chance to speak the truth. “Hmph, that’s what I thought. I assumed we were friends, but I should’ve known better.”

“Bonnie-,” Stefan began.

“Sage, you bitch!” Damon gasped as foams of spittle shot from his mouth. “I knew your visit wasn’t just because the slut convention was in town. How long have you been a Mikaelson toy?”

“Oh eat me, Damon! Did you really believe I was going to stand by while you killed Finn?” The red haired vampire raged.

Damon let Stefan help him to his feet. His glower never straying from Sage. “Finn who? The only Original I care about killing is the hybrid. You and coffin boy could’ve skipped off together hand-.”

“They’re linked, Damon. What happens to one, happens to them all.” The volume of Sage’s tone increased as she cut him off.

Damon’s blue gaze crossed. “Fine, you caught me. Truth is, I don’t give shit how many Originals follows the hybrid to the grave. As long as he shows up on time and is ready to climb the hell in, then they _all_ can have a fucking reunion on the other side.”

Tired of the back and forth, Bonnie tossed the Salvatore shipping ledger onto the burning bridge. Once she watched the fire engulf the leather and worn pages, the tension which stretched her taut snapped. When determination and purpose no longer sustained her, the consistency of her muscles became no better than slightly heated rubber. Against all things that fueled her pride, her knees threatened to give out and she silently swore to the errant joints that she’d hack them off if they so much as buckled.

Kol’s cool hand slipped into hers. “Are you well, little love?”

“I’m exhausted. Too exhausted to continue dealing with him.” She nodded her head at a still ranting Damon. “I’d much rather have a shower and some rest before, your brother hauls Finn’s ass back here.”

Kol bowed his head once, and then his eyes flicked to Rebekah who stood on the sidelines observing the scene with a closed lip smile. “My witch is overcome by the day’s events. So, we’ll be taking our leave. I trust you’re more than capable of managing this last bit to conclusion, Bekah.”

If Rebekah had an issue with her brother ditching Sage and she with clean up duty, nothing showed on her face. In fact, she barely even glanced at Kol as he led them to her car.

Once they made it to her Prius, he opened the passenger door. Her eyebrows attempted to collide. “Thought you didn’t know how to drive,” she said, before raising her fingers in air quotes, “vehicles of this era.”

“Complications of the past, lovely.” He leaned forward to press his lips to her neck.

Her head automatically dipped to the side to provide unrestricted access. “You just told me that this morning.”

“Then, it was true. However, after spending several hours observing you drive us back to town, I’m confident I’ve not only mastered the task of piloting a vehicle, but I also have an understanding for the rules of the highways,” he assured, while extending a hand.

Throwing a middle finger up to sound judgement and logic, she dropped her keys in Kol’s waiting palm. He kissed her once more, before helping her into the passenger seat. By the time he slid into the driver’s side, she’d already talked herself out of letting him take the wheel.

“Kol, this is a mistake-,”

“Trust me, Bonnie. I’m more than capable of seeing you home. Give me this opportunity to prove it to you.” Once again, his big dark pleading eyes subjugated her doubts.

 _Get your crap together, Bonnie B. He’s an Original vampire. If he’s certain he can drive, then buckle the hell up and let him take the damn wheel,_ she mused. “Fine.” Her eyes rolled closed as a long drawn out sigh slid easily from her lips. “But, Kol! If you wreck my car…”

“Then I’ll purchase you a bigger and better automobile, Goddess.”

“Bigger is unnecessary, but better…well, maybe I’ll show up for that,” she muttered as the car purred to life.

 _Nivea’s, Complicated,_ hummed from the car speakers. Cautiously, she settled back in her seat to watch Kol from the corner of her eye. He stared down at the cluster with a puckered brow for a moment before giving her a sideways glance.

“Something wrong?” She questioned, swinging her head to look at him full on.

“Well…” his gaze slid briefly back to the cluster, before returning to hers.

“Yes?” She ground out as she wrestled to keep hold of her patience.

“It’s all rather trivial,” he assured. “Earlier when you drove, you sat rather close to the steering device. So I didn’t have the opportunity to confirm the purpose of each pedal.”

Bonnie pursed her lips to keep the wrong words in check. Since she’d committed to allowing Kol to drive her car, she was determined to be supportive. “The short horizontal pedal is the brake, and the long vertical one on the right is the gas pedal. Hold down the brake to shift the car in drive.”

Gratitude poured from his eyes right before his mouth crashed down on hers. When he pulled away a small smile toyed with both of their lips. “Now all is left is for you to provide me with directions and I’ll have you at your residence before you have a mind to fear for your life.”

“Hold on,” she said, and then opened her purse to dig through the contents for her phone.

When she located her cell in the midst of all the madness in her purse, she yanked it free of the clutter, and then pressed the navigation app. After she entered her home address as the destination location, a polite automated voice cut through the music to instruct Kol. His eyes flared as his gaze swung to regard the speaker. His expression reminded her of the first time he heard, _Call me Maybe_. The thought strong armed a grin from her lips.

Following the automated voice’s directions, he maneuvered the Prius onto the road. For the next several minutes she stalked every move he made until she grew at ease with his driving. She then settled in to enjoy the ride. After an indeterminate amount of time she must have dosed off, because she found herself being jostled awake by her Original as he lifted her into his arms bridal style.

“You’re so extra. Why didn’t you just wake me when we arrived?”

“You’re exhausted and it was my intent to carry you in without rousing you,” he answered in a lowered tone as he shoved various keys into the lock on her front door, until one turned to allow them access.

After they entered, instead of putting her down, he carried her upstairs to her room. Once inside, he placed her on the twin sized bed. “Wait here, while I gather our belongings from the automobile.”

She nodded, and then watched him use Original speed to hurtle from the room. Her exhaustion receded as visions of the last time he’d visited her room flashed across her mind like turning pages of a comic book. The recollections not only flirted with the walls of her mental, but they also claimed her senses. Creating a three dimensional memory, which housed the foundation of the unfolding connection, she’d begun to share with him.

Bonnie wanted nothing more than to place her trust in the developing bond she had with the Original. Problem was, Kol Mikaelson was a thousand year old vampire who’d had enough women—and more than likely men—in his undead life to fill the pages of a damn dictionary. How the hell could she compete? Her! A seventeen year old virgin who’d only ever thought about making a break for second base, but never really having the nerve to ditch first.

When she started dating Jeremy she assumed they’d eventually do the dew on an appropriate milestone. Maybe on her eighteenth birthday, after prom, or either graduation night. With him she wasn’t pressed. Sex was nothing more than another first to be crossed off her list. But when Jeremy’s decision to cheat decimated their relationship, losing her virginity barely tip-toed across her mind. Yet, since Kol had become a factor, all she could think about was the moment he took her down. Just the idea of him touching Bob Marley gave her the shakes.

“Bonnie, I’d give anything to become familiar with the thoughts which presently possess your mind,” Kol said, dropping their bags next to her desk.

She climbed to her knees, and then held out a hand to him. If he hesitated, then her human eyes didn’t perceive his reluctance. Not even a fraction of a second later, she lay sprawled across his chest as he reclined on a mountain of stuffed animals and pillows. They were content to lie there in silence, but the quietness in the room also dared her mind to wander.

Without really intending to, her thoughts drifted back to the boarding house, and the moment jealousy almost played her out of character. Never in her life had anyone ever accused her of such a ratchet personality trait, but Kol had snatched it out of her. Who would’ve thought one sideways compliment about Sage’s, ‘flaming hell hole,’ would send her spiraling down so many ranks? By the time she bottomed out, the cast of Flavor of Love was waiting to welcome her to their level. That’s what happened when people attempted to control others. They soon learned they no longer controlled themselves.

She cleaved herself from her thoughts to slide her gaze over the Original who was gradually becoming an addiction. Just thinking about Kol with Sage—the thousand year old prostitute—ripped Bennett land inside out. If she didn’t dig until she reached the bottom of the gonorrhea conspiracy, then her petty jealousy would own her ass.

She angled herself around to balance her chin on Kol’s peck. A genuine smile found his mouth as soon as his soul disturbing chocolate gaze lay claim to hers. He leaned forward, bringing his face within lip grazing distance. When his mouth was mere decimeters from hers, she spit out the question that nearly singed a hole in her tongue. “So you and Sage, huh?”

“Sage and I, what?” The smoothness of Kol’s forehead gave birth to an array of wrinkles.

“You tell me. Were you guys a thing way back when?” She questioned, while visually stalking every eye shift, twitch, and roll.

“If by a thing, you mean did we have relations, then yes. I pillaged her disease infested core once when I was human. Had I’d known of the fire breathing aquatic creature maneuvering her feminine waters, then I would’ve kept a tighter hold on my billfold.” His gaze slowly traveled over her face. The precision of his perusal introduced her self-consciousness back into the conversation as her new found boldness silently stepped to the left. Her gaze buckled under the weight of his searching stare. “Why do you mention?” When she maintained her silence, he sighed. “Little Love, will you please lend me your regard.”

Reluctantly, her gaze collided with his. The concern in those chocolate depths shed light on the darkest of her doubts. “There’s no need for you to feel threatened by Sage or anyone else whom may have come before you. I know that’s difficult for you to fathom, because I only have words to offer, but-,”

“Kol…”

He placed a finger to her lips. “But it’s my intent to add value to my words by making them consistent with my actions.”

Snatching her completely off point, he claimed her mouth with a tongue plunging kiss which had the same effect as downing a bottle of top shelf vodka. His unexpected, but very much welcomed assault, spun the dial on her senses and crank her way pass the point of human perception. In that moment she felt everything times ten. Like the weight of his mouth on hers. Or the slight dip in the center of his bottom lip.

The power that oozed from the soft pads of his cool fingertips as he slowly slid his hand under her shirt, provoked her hips to rock. A tremble crept down her frame. The stimulating warmth of his magic beckoned for hers to come forth. Her sorcery unfurled and shifted inside of her in response.

Bob Marley crooned for attention. The lonely Rastafarian longed to be spread open. To be showered with time consuming kisses until his pipes burst and liquid heat flooded out his spot. But more than anything, he craved a slow hard grind that would provide much needed friction. Because where there was friction, there was also release, and he’d yearned for such a liberation from the moment he realized he wanted to be touched.

With Original ease, Kol reversed their spots. The position of power now belonged to him and he wasted no time in showing her who set the pace. From the deliberate in-depth caress of his tongue against hers to his lazy searching hands. Every inch of her purred, pulsed, and clenched to the unique tick of his clock.

Kol’s long agile fingers worked diligently to penetrate the barrier the waistband of her jeans presented, while his other hand strived to address the obstacle of her bra. Her magic thrummed beneath the surface of her skin, swirling and pooling in faultless harmony with the ancient erotic deviltry radiating from his palms.

Every piece and part of her longed to be invaded by every single hard inch of him, but she still couldn’t shake her head full of doubts. The ones that whispered, what the hell could she do for an Original vampire like Kol Mikaelson, when she couldn’t even stop her human boyfriend from leaving her for a ghost?

Those reservations devastated the mood and effectively slaughtered her vibe. So when her Original’s fingers breached her underwear, her nerve ran the hell out. Panic chased her heart into an irregular rapid rhythm. Had her room always been this small? Unholy hell! Did Kol drain a baby elephant when she wasn’t looking? His Original ass weighed a ton! With every ounce of strength she could pull together, she pushed him off. He allowed himself to be shoved away, but the twisted muscles in his face, preached a sermon on the pain she’d caused.

“Kol, I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It’s just…I’ve never…and you have with sooo many…I just don’t think…”

He sat upright, and then swung his legs off the mattress, giving her his back. “You have nothing to apologize for, Bonnie. I had no right to take liberties and make assumptions. It’s I who should beg for your pardon.”

“You have nothing to be forgiven for, Kol.” She reached for him and he shrunk away. “Kol?”

“Does my vampirism make my touch intolerable to you, Bonnie?” His uttered question, barely constituted as a whisper. In fact, she had to strain to hear him.

“Your touch is mind numbing. It’s heroine blended with crack. Trust me when I say, it’s definitely me and not you, babe.”

The hell! Her excuse sounded like the worse cliché to ever jump out of one mouth too many. Frustrated by her sudden inability to express herself, she reached for him. This time he not only swerved her, but he altogether slid from the bed.

“I’m going to wash myself.” He tossed over his shoulder as he headed towards the bathroom door. Before stepping inside, he added, “you should get some rest. Nik, will be undoubtedly expecting us at an hour more fitting of a duel.”

When the bathroom door closed, she spit out a profanity word salad. What the hell was wrong with her? She craved Kol, more than a stripper wished for an indoor rainstorm. So what was the damn problem? Since his haircut and close shave, Bob Marley was more than ready to invite someone over. In fact, he was ready to rock their asses until their bones shook loose. Hell, she’d been mentally prepared to be occupied from the moment she peeped the first vision of Kol and her writhing together in a sweaty naked tangle. _Then stop putting the cow in coward Bennett! Introduce your Original to the best Rastafarian to ever put lips to the mic!_ She silently admonished.

Refusing to give second thoughts the time of day, she jumped from the mattress and began to remove her clothes. Once she stood as bare assed as the day the doctor slapped her on the backside, she hurried inside the bathroom before her squirrely nerves could change her mind. Inside, steam from the shower curtained the tiny room with fog. She avoided looking at the condensation covered mirror. The last thing she wanted was to be deterred by a face full of insecurities.

Once she reached the tub, she slid the curtain aside. Kol stood underneath the shower head with his eyes closed, facing towards the rear of the shower. Awe snatched her mouth wide. Her Original was a god, and she wanted nothing more than to fall on her knees and worship him properly.

The drops of water crisscrossing over the hard plains and sharp edges of his body, wrenched all the moisture from her oral cavity. Her tongue was dryer than a stack of sandpaper. She’d once heard Kol brag about his ‘person’ being a work of art, now she could raise her right hand to testify his flawless body was indeed a masterpiece. Kol’s mind-stunning physique would have the Statue of David gnashing his teeth in envy as he hunted for his clothes with an energizer battery powered flashlight while in blinding daylight.

She stood there for a moment waiting to be acknowledged, but if he’d heard her enter, nothing about his expression or stance gave any indication. In fact, if she didn’t know any better she’d believe him to be adrift in thought, but she did know better. She also knew his injured pride was going to make her work for it…for him. Then so be it. She’d work like a dog if it meant getting them back in sync.

So she shed the last of her inhibitions, tucked away her shame, and then stepped into the tub. Unable to continue admiring without touching, she reached out and dragged the pad of her thumb over one of his dusky nipples. The pink flesh puckered against the digit at the first hint of contact. Its eager response extended a summons to her tongue that dared her to refuse. She inched closer to him until her breasts grazed the upper part of his stomach. When his peck was in kissing distance, she leaned forward and took his nipple between her teeth.

A sharp intake of breath gave her hope he wasn’t completely immune. Allowing his ques to be her guide, she skimmed her tongue over his nipple. This time he rewarded her by snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her even closer. Her opposing hand glided over his abdomen muscles to his chest to capture his other nipple. Without even an inkling of mercy, she squeezed, tugged, and twisted until she had him hissing like a pack of brawling alley cats. He snatched her from his chest to glare into her eyes.

“Do you know how many witches I have brought to heel with my touch? Have you any inkling of how many of your sisters in nature have pleaded to be defiled and violated by me?” He hissed. “More than even I, care to remember. The many however, is not the question with which you need trouble yourself. Your interest should be centered on the why of it all. For example…why did so many daughters disobey their mother nature, to lie with her greatest abomination? What is it about Kol Mikaelson that can bring even the most frigid of witches to their literal knees? Well now I suppose that’s two questions for you to ponder.”

Her magic flared as her mind raged. The thought of him with other witches set her brain on fire. _“Kol!”_

“Worry not, little love. You’ll have your answers. In verity, I mean for your education to be quite thorough and rather drawn out,” Kol growled, before lifting her in his arms.

Moments later her back collided with the rear shower wall as his mouth crashed down on hers. Their teeth bumped together in a jarring clash, while their tongues battled for absolute control over the other. Just when she thought she’d gained his submission, he changed tactics by sinking his fangs into her bottom lip. Her cry echoed off the bathroom walls. The combination of pain and pleasure rocked her mind and rendered her no more than a quivering mess.

Abruptly, he withdrew his fangs from her lip to scrape the sharpened points over her jugular, carotid and then down her neck. He nipped, sucked, and licked until he reached her breasts. He then retaliated against her prior ministrations by licking each of her nipples at a pace that would piss off a snail. By the time he finished lavishing the peaks of her breasts with tongue slathering attention, she could barely stand. Her breathing no more than shallow gasps and dog like pants.

Once satisfied, he worked his way down her abdomen until he came face to lips with Bob Marley. His proximity to the Tuff provoked her thighs to squeeze together in a vise clench. The throb at the center of her sex, blew her damn mind. In that moment she would’ve traded her soul for any intervention that would take away the exquisite ache.

Kol inhaled as he stared up at her through his lashes. “Your arousal is intoxicating. I can barely keep my tongue in my mouth. Not while your wild flower is all but begging me to lick its petals.” Her eyes crossed at the thought of him licking her petals. "Alas, your sensitivity over me touching Bob is quite the deterrent, little love. If only you would misplace your qualms and arrange an introduction. I'm sure Bob and I would get along swimmingly."

“Kol, please,” she whimpered.

He cocked an arrogant brow, even as his eyes flared to claim the pretext of innocence. “Please what, little love? You’re going have to be blatantly distinct in your application of me. I fear I’m quite dense when it comes to knowing a woman’s mind. Why, you see how I went and blundered things with you earlier.”

“ _Kol_ -,”

He blew a steady stream of his cool breath on Bob and Elijah was right, it had come seriously close to being her undoing. A moan untangled itself from her vocal chords, forced its way into her mouth, and slithered ever so treacherously from her lips. Without consent, her hips thrust themselves at his face. An arrogant grin blossomed on his lips to match the arrogant lift in his brow.

“You were saying, goddess?” He asked in a tone so innocent it would make a choir boy sound like a perpetrating con artist in comparison.

By this point her pride had become nothing more than an idea to be debated over by philosophers a thousand years in the future. At present however, the instigating emotion couldn’t do a damn thing for her. “Please touch Bob, Kol,” she whispered.

“Surely, you’ll grant me more liberties than a simple touch, little love.” He leaned forward and licked the stickiness of her arousal from her upper thigh. His eyes rolled closed. “Mm, my imagination is rubbish. Your sexual savor is by far superior to anything I could’ve ever imagined.”

When the last drop of her patience circled the drain, she attempted to slip her trembling fingers into her folds. Kol gently smacked her hand away, and then lifted one of her thighs on his shoulder. After he pressed a kiss on her femoral artery, he placed her other thigh on his opposing shoulder. Soon as she realized she was no longer supporting her own weight, Kol buried his face at the center of her pounding need and went to damn town.

The tip of Kol's tongue prodded the bundle of tense nerves between Bob Marley's lips. His vigorous manipulations put her inexperienced fingers to shame. The sweeping movements of the soft muscle were random, yet deliberate and exact. Alternating between her pearl and slit, while every so often plunging into the seeping opening. An unfamiliar need stirred inside of her. A desire quite feral in its rampant need, pleaded for Kol to go deeper. To explore until he found the mythical spot where all of her orgasms lived. The unspeakable notion of him hitting that spot burst her mind wide and opened her to untold possibilities.

A pressure so breathtakingly indescribable began to build with every swirl and slather of Kol's wicked tongue. Just when she thought she'd reached the pinnacle of bliss itself, he suckled her pearl and began to hum, _Call me Maybe_. The pulsing vibration within his mouth had her clawing at the back of his head as she ground her insistent mound into his face. The close proximity of her anticipated conclusion had her wailing and frothing from the mouth. She was losing her damn mind. He was doing too much, while intentionally not doing enough. His fingers dug into her ass cheeks and dragged Bob Marley even closer still.

More and more pieces of her sanity flaked away the closer she came to blasting off. Her magic tore from her pores and blanketed the tiny room, adding even more density to the fog like steam. The moment she exploded and sky rocketed into the stratosphere, he shoved two fingers inside of her and began thrusting the digits with wild shameless abandon. Pain penetrated her pleasure, and blew her sexuality apart. She mewled from the bottom of her lungs.

Before she had a chance to wallow in her sweet misery, Kol buried his fangs in her groin. Shit went live and her new found understanding for sexual gratification was yet again redefined. Hedonistic ecstasy scorched her veins. The fiendish thrill hurtled forth to possess her mind, sorcery, and Bob. Her control slipped. Taking advantage of her momentary lapse, her magic shattered the vanity lights over the mirror. The room was pitched in darkness. Neither she nor Kol barely noticed. His puncturing of her femoral artery, owned every facet of their consideration.

Pulsating jolts, discharged from her Original's fangs. The razor sharp enameled daggers had declared war on the Tuff's pearl tongue. Firing shot after shot of hammering vibrations at the tightened bundle. The unending torture had her frame bucking harder than an seizing epileptic. By the time she free fell over the edge her throat was raw and every bone in her body lost density until nothing remained but marrow.

After Kol’s sloppy face time, he removed each of her shaky legs from his shoulders and leisurely licked his way back up her tremoring body. And just when she thought the fire storm passed, her dimming lust reignited as his tongue reclaimed her mouth. The blended taste of her lust and blood in his minty sweet mouth, provoked her to climb him like a tree.

He laughed as he repositioned them so her legs wrapped easily around his waist. “From this moment forth, you will never again push me away. Do you understand me, Bonnie?” When she nodded her response, a frown darkened his features. “Many apologies, but that simply will not do, my darling. I have to _hear_ you promise.”

“I’ll never hurt you like that again. I’m sorry, babe,” she rasped, in a broken whisper. “That’s the last time I’ll ever allow my insecurities to cause you pain or get between us, I promise.”

His gaze searched hers for a moment, before he inclined his head in a brief nod. Seconds later, he had her pinned once again to the shower wall. After pressing another lingering kiss to her lips, he sliced open his carotid and angled the open wound in front of her mouth. Without urging, she latched on to his neck. The minute his blood crossed her lips, she could taste the increased potency of his magic.

Where his essence had bowed to her before, now it sought to subjugate and dominate. Surging through her body as if it had a claim to her magic. As if it had a claim to her soul. And without so much as a threatening sizzle or fizzle her power submitted to the conquering sorcery like the spell binding deviltry had receipts!

“Little love, please.” A reluctant moan flew from Kol’s lips and collided with her ears. “I’ll perish if you refuse to allow me to enter you this night.”

The evidence of her effect on him motivated her to suck harder than necessary. An answering growl rumbled from his chest. The sensation pebbled her already impossibly tight nipples. A deeper ache than before throbbed to life at the very center of her. It demanded adequate compensation. Not the mere snack he’d provided before as a placation. She didn’t know what her body thought it was owed, but she knew the Tuff demanded more.

Frustrated she groaned, and then Kol bucked his hips. Several hard inches of his seriously impressive length slid between Bob’s lips, glided over his slit and connected with his tongue. The intense thrill that drilled through her center, shocked her into an unmoving state, and forced the origin of her deeper unresolved need into prospective.

 _Invite him in, and two halves shall become whole,_ something dark but stupid powerful whispered from deep within.

Before she could consider the voice or the meaning behind its request, Kol squeezed her butt cheeks together, and pressed her lower half firmly against his. The erect rigid muscle, slapping at his lower abdomen found itself trapped between Bob’s folds, and their tightly pressed bodies. When his hips thrust upwards again, they both moaned. Her nails penetrated the soft skin over his shoulder blades. The sensually mouthwatering wonder, provoked her to grind and hump in an attempt to meet every sinful plunge, until her core muscles began to clench and release in rapid successions.

Her end descended on her without warning. Latin spewed from her lips like it was being spoken by a native tongue. Her frame writhed, rocked, and twisted as if she been possessed by a legion of demons. If Kol hadn’t tightened his hold around her to weather his own release, her shuddering conclusion would’ve quaked her to quavering bits and pieces. After several moments of gasping and senseless murmurs. Her Original zipped her from the bathroom.

Before her lips had a chance to split, she found her—dripping wet—self deposited on top of her desk spread open wider than her Anatomy and Physiology text book resting under drenched head. Kol stood between her parted trembling thighs, while the head of his manhood pressed insistently at her opening. An excited fear gripped her where the unquenchable throb lived. Fleeting relief reverberated off the walls of her core.

“Kol,” she moaned

“Bonnie!” A familiar voice yelled.

Kol snarled and her heart jumped in her throat. In a move that would put a contortionist on notice, she arched and twisted until her gaze collided with Matt. Bonnie’s jaw dropped. The hell! Her good friend Matt Donovan since grade school, lay among all of her pillows and stuffed animals, ass out with his meat and potatoes swinging.

“Matt!” She squeaked. “Where the hell are your clothes?”

“My clothes? Where the hell are yours, Bon?” He countered, before his glare impaled Kol. “Wait…isn’t he the dick who fractured my throwing hand?”

Shit! With everything spinning beyond the borders of control, she’d forgotten all about Kol’s run in with Matt. She hopped from the desk, and ducked behind Kol for cover.

“Rest assured, after I shatter your knees, you will look back on your fractured hand as a fond memory,” Kol seethed as he snatched her robe from the back of her desk chair and draped it over her shoulders.

She gave Matt her back as she firmly tucked and belted the robe in place. “Matt, what’re you doing here?” She turned to reface him, pointedly keeping her gaze trained on his face.

“Dying magnificently, if I’m to have my way,” Kol interjected.

“It’s Sunday,” Matt said, before he climbed from the bed to search for his clothes.

“Okay.” Her head bobbed as she actively tried to ignore Kol’s nudity and his bold as shit refusal to dress. “I’m well aware.”

“Tonight’s Game of Thrones’ season premier.” When she only stared, the redness staining his cheeks deepened. “We agreed to watch it together last week.”

“Oh damn, Matt. I’m sorry, I should’ve called,” she said.

“It’s fine. I should’ve text you to confirm,” he shrugged. “It’s just, when I saw your car parked outside…I thought you might’ve decided to keep our date even with everything that’s happened lately.”

“Date?” Bonnie sputtered. Confusion had never been so clouded.

“Yeah.” The redness began to spread to Matt’s neck. “Well, at least I thought…”

The corners of her mouth headed further south as her frown deepened. Did Matt mistake her willingness to hang out as an acceptance for dating him? “Matt, is that why you’re naked? Did you assume, um…” _That she’d let him work the middle!_ “That we’d…” _Smash!_

Kol stalked forward. She stepped in front of him and took a log of wood to the back for her troubles. He released an outrageously too long sigh, but he remained in place.

“Shit, Bon,” Matt said. He sat his pale bare ass on the side of her bed. “Not at first, but I spent some time with Elena yesterday. We got to talking about how people you never thought to love could end up being the one person who completes you. It’s like, you see this person all the time, but hear no violins, and see no fireworks. Then one day, BAMB!” He slammed his good fist into her mattress. “You get knocked to the ground by all of the emotions you never knew you felt for this person.”

“Matt…” She didn’t even pretend to know where to begin setting him straight.

“I know you’re probably thinking I should be Baker Acted, but I haven’t been the same since the night you kissed me, Bons,” Matt said as he covertly tugged one of her frilly purple pillows across his lap.

Kol nailed her with a narrow eyed accusing glare, but she ignored him to check Matt.

“Come again.” Her eyebrows shot towards her hairline. “What the hell are you talking about, Matt? The only kisses we’ve ever shared are ones that can just as easily be given to your grandmother.”

Matt watched her for a moment with an expression that only Kol had a right to, especially after the mouth and lip service he’d performed in the shower. Matt’s eyes swelled from their sockets. “You don’t remember, do you?”

“Remember what?” She demanded.

“The night before you and Elena went to find your mom I came over to check on you,” he said. Pity flickered in his azure blue gaze and it pissed her off. Why the hell was she the only one to be pitied, when they all were catching hell? “You were drunk and looking through old photo albums.”

“What?” She asked, while lacing her fingers with Kol’s without giving the action much thought.

“You were really upset, Bon. It took me almost an hour to convince you to get some rest. And you only agreed because I promised to stay until you fell asleep.”

“Little love, please assure me you don’t have an affinity for seeking out companionship after your well into your cups,” Kol demanded. She squeezed his hand, because she didn’t know what the hell else to do.

“Kol, please.” Bonnie brought their hands to her lips and kissed the back of his. “Let him finish.” Her attention returned to her friend. “Go on, Matt.”

Matt eyed her and Kol’s linked hands as he continued speaking, “So I stayed. When I finally got you to bed and all tucked in, you kissed me.”

“Is that all.” She exhaled her relief in long drawn out sigh. “Matt you had me worried.” Her gaze swung over her shoulder to Kol. “I probably pecked him goodnight out of habit. It used to be me and Grams routine when I was younger.”

“It wasn’t a damn peck, Bonnie!” Matt climbed to his feet, while still clutching the pillow in front of his private parts. “You kissed me. I mean you really kissed me. Tongues and serious grinding were involved. You even asked me to take your virginity.”

“The hell!” She snapped, desperate to recall the exact moment her ass collided with rock bottom.

If Matt was telling the truth, then she’d almost broke code. Poaching her best friends’ ex was a no flex zone. Care and Elena may ball by a different set of rules, but she was a traditional player. No fouls without free throws, no running with the ball, and no dating or riding your best friends’ ex-boyfriend

“Nothing happened of course,” he reassured, while taking a step forward. “You were too drunk to know your own mind. So I promised we would talk about it when I came over for the Game of Thrones’ season premier.”

“So what, you thought we’d have the conversation without our clothes?” Her free hand found her hip.

“No.” Matt’s shoulders sagged. “This was Elena’s idea.”

“Hold on,” she said, scrunching her face, while angling her ear in his direction to make sure she’d heard him right. “Say that one more time.”

“The bloody doppelwhore. I barely even know her and yet I’m not surprised,” Kol muttered, while snaking an arm around her waist and bringing her back, closer to his front.

“Well, she didn’t tell me to strip bare ass and climb in your bed.” He awkwardly shrugged a shoulder. “Elena thought I should make a grand gesture. She said after Jeremy, you deserved one.”

“Matt-,”  

“Sodding hell,” she heard Kol mutter. “Hang on, little love. Things are about to travel from strange to unthinkable.”

“What?” She chanced a glance at Kol.

Before he could answer, her room door creaked open. Her father’s head slipped from the opening. “BB, are you-,” His teeth slaughtered the, would be, sentence with a snap. Bulging pissed off eyes darted from Matt to Kol. “The hell is going on in here?” She opened her mouth to explain, but he waved a hand to stop her. “Know what, don’t worry about explaining a got damn thing, because you naked motherfuckers have ten seconds before I unpack Margie-G and riddle your world with wood and hollow points.” When Kol and Matt only stared, the countdown began, “ **TEN!** ”

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. And to add unfairness to poetic injustice, neither does the shows or the books. However, I still intend to pull the characters' strings and make them dance, all while having a ball upsetting canon plot lines!

“Nine,” Rudy Hopkins bellowed. The sound originated from the deepest part of his chest.

 His rage infested eyes ricocheted between Matt and Kol. Pissed didn’t begin to describe the fury which leapt from his half crazed gaze. Bonnie couldn’t remember ever seeing her dad so angry. She wondered if he knew about her late night binge drinking sessions under his desk, too.

Almost as if he sensed her brainwaves, he captured her in his sight. An echo of disbelief flickered in his caramel brown depths. Guilt flamed her ass. Her dad trusted her to behave like a middle-aged librarian in his absence, not a bitch in heat fresh off the leash. What the hell had gotten into her? Kol Mikaelson! Not yet, but give her time. The corner of her mouth twitched in an attempt to force back a nervous grin.

“You think this situation is funny?” Her dad boomed. The vein bulging diagonally across his forehead looked one throb away from bursting.

If she didn’t step up, at any given moment, he would stroke out. But what the hell could she say? That the situation at hand was only partially what it appeared. Her back had met concrete, while Rudy towered before her like a fucking brick wall.

“Dad-,”

The door slammed open even wider. “Hon, is everything—oh!”

A tall familiar looking man staggered to a stop in the doorway next to her dad. Thick, dark, wavy hair fell across a broad forehead into a pair of very large, but compelling, sapphire eyes. His gaze brimmed with concern as he searched her father’s face. The intimacy between the two snatched her antennas upright. A single spark of curiosity enflamed her mind. Just who in _the_ hell was this man?

Her stare fell to the orange hair baby strapped to his stomach. The squirming bundle looked to be no more than six months in age, while his alert azure stare appeared much older. She returned her gaze to the man’s face. When the stranger’s wide disapproving gape took in Matt and Kol’s birthday fits, his hand flew to cover the baby’s eyes.

“Eight!” Her dad yelled.

“Who’s he?” Bonnie ignored her dad’s need to be extra. “And why the hell is he in my room?”

Her attitude spiked. It wasn’t enough for her dad to show up unannounced. No, he had to drag home a _‘work’_ buddy as well. And what was with the baby?

Light pink stained the man’s cheeks. “Please forgive me, Bonnie. I honestly didn’t mean to violate your privacy, but your dad-,”

“Seven,” Rudy spit through clenched teeth, refusing to hear a damn thing.

The man grabbed her father’s hand in both of his. “Rude, stop with the counting. You’re going to give yourself a heart attack. Let’s go downstairs. We can have a finger,” he paused while his glance swept over the occupants of her bedroom again, “or three of Cognac. It’ll allow everyone time to dress. What’d you say, Hon?”

Bonnie’s jaw dropped for the third time that night. Did he just call her dad Hon? In front of her? This one must be new, yet he looked so damn familiar. Where the hell had she seen him before?

“I say six! I want these bastards out of my damn house!” Her dad raged. “If they were so worried about their fucking clothes, then they wouldn’t have come out of them in the first place! Five!”

The strangers jaw squared as his hands left the baby’s eyes to cover his ears. “Oh my Sarah Palin, Rude! Do you mind not sounding like a hip-hop mixtape in front of our son? Last thing this country needs is another white rapper.”

Oh my Sarah Palin? And did he just say…

Bonnie’s chin hit the ground again. At this rate, she might as well keep her mouth open with all the jaw dropping revelations sliding her way. “Our son?”

Her questioning gaze swung from the man, to the orange haired baby, and then her father, who was now paying too much damn attention to the carpet.

“I’ll catch you later, Bon,” Matt said, almost falling on his face as he attempted to wiggle into his jeans, minus his damn underwear. His pointed stare landed on her father and the stranger with the even stranger chubby face baby. “You and your dad seem to, um…have a lot to catch up on. Call you tomorrow?” He didn’t wait for an answer, before turning to hop from her room wearing only one shoe, while clutching the other awkwardly in the palm of his hand.

A slab of wood shifted against her back as Kol’s cool lips grazed the side of her neck. When he stepped around her, she almost swallowed her tongue. He looked like a fucking fantasy from one of her freak nasty wet dreams. And even though her father gave the impression of a Spanish Fighting bull faced with a sea of red, she still couldn’t stop her starving gaze from devouring the flexing muscles in Kol’s spectacular glutes as he swaggered to retrieve their bags.

Every step her Original took gave irrefutable meaning to the phrase, poetry in motion. Even, the stranger’s appreciative leer followed every move her Original executed. The poor man looked so thirsty, she almost believed he hadn’t drunk a single drop of water in days. But who could blame him, just looking at Kol would give even Aqua man cotton mouth.

“Get dressed and send him on his damn way,” Her dad barked, while elbow checking the stranger in the shoulder. “Family meeting downstairs in five minutes.”

Bonnie shook her head so hard she thought her brain would fly out of her ear. She needed to focus on Rudy, and the crap spewing from his mouth like a busted sewage pipe. Silently counting the well-defined muscles in Kol’s abdomen wouldn’t do her concentration any favors. “No! I don’t need five minutes. You need to tell me something right now. What’s going on? Who the hell are they?”

“Watch your mouth,” Rudy snapped, attempting to incorporate a, ‘no bullshit vibe’, into his tone. She tooted her lip. He might as well take a damn seat, because people without legs didn’t get to stand on pedestals and give sermons. “We’re not having this conversation while you’re half dressed with a butt naked boy standing in your room looking at me like I’m the got damn problem!” His demon possessed glare found Kol’s amused chocolate browns. “Now, boy. As I see it, you’re out of time. Either dress faster or get desiccated.”

“By you?” Kol laughed.

_“Kol!”_ She pinned him with a, back the hell off, glare.

“Alright,” her dad’s head bobbed as he spun on his heel to head for her door. “Don’t move. You just stand right there until I get back.”

“Rude, please calm down. Your heart-,” the stranger began.

“Why do you keep saying that? What about his heart?” She questioned taking a couple of steps forward.

“Bailey!” Rudy stopped mid-stride. Squeezing his eyes shut, he slapped a palm to his forehead, and then released a sigh that dropped his shoulders. After a lingering moment, he trained his gaze on her. “It’s nothing, BB. My heart’s fine. Just need to find a way to stay active while I’m traveling.”

The stranger pursed his lips, while spearing her dad with sharp judging eyes. The expression on the man’s face snitched that Rudy Hopkins was full of all sorts of incomplete truths. Her dad’s health and personal life was a better kept secret than Jimmy Hoffa’s whereabouts.

“What’s going on, dad?” She asked as her guts began to bubble and boil. “You’ve been gone for the past three months-,”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Bonnie,” he said in tone meant to disarm stupidity. She clenched her fists and sucked in enough air to oxygenate two. Why did he always talk down to her whenever he found himself tangled in all of his wrongs? “I’ve flown back to Mystic Falls every other weekend to check on you.”

She rolled her eyes until they felt as if they would spin right out of her head. “Remaining only long enough to make sure the bills were paid and I didn’t go hungry.”

“And apparently I was worried about the wrong damn thing! I should’ve had you fitted for a chastity belt instead of fussing over food and frivolous utilities,” he yelled. The baby began to wail, but Rudy ignored him to continue going in verbally. “I raised you to be good and not…” His hands flapped around like he was attempting to snatch the right word from either thin air or his ass.

“Nope.” She gave her head a little shake, before tucking her forearms under her breasts. “Don’t run out of words now. Finish what you were gonna say. And not what, hmm? A whore…slut…disappoint…check me if I’m wrong, Rudy!”

Her dad sighed as he reached out to rub the squalling baby on the back. “Look, this entire situation is deviating from the course I plotted. There are things I wanted to discuss with you over a nice dinner, but our flight was delayed.” Once the baby quieted down to soft hiccupping noises, he placed a kiss on the child’s head and turned fully around to face her. “Then I hoped to have a nice conversation with you in the family room. After which, I’d give you a little time on your own to come to terms with everything we’ve discussed, but that plan burst hell wide open too.”

“Forget the plots and plans, dad.” She closed the distance between her and Rudy. “If you have something you wanna say, just say it.”

Her dad’s glower fell to her Original who’d begun sliding his beautiful thighs and slim hips into a pair of jeans. “Send your guest home first. Then we’ll get into the changes concerning this family.” Kol blessed her father with one of his narrowed eyed smirks, before shrugging into his shirt.

“Okay,” her head bobbed. “Soon as you send your company on their way, I’ll walk Kol out,” she said, giving the stranger and baby a pointed stare.

The man lifted a freshly threaded brow, but remained silent.

“Fine, since you’re so determined to put our family business in the streets,” Rudy shrugged, “then so be it. Bonnie, this is Bailey Davenger.” He locked hands with the stranger. “My husband.” Her dad’s ice cold glare melted the moment his caramel irises skimmed over Bailey’s face. When the infant trapped between their bodies released an indignant squawk, they both laughed. “And this little ball of pink and orange,” he cooed, in a childish voice, while making silly faces at the tot who gurgled right back at him, “is Samson, our son and your baby brother.”

“The hell!” Her hand dropped to her hip, right before her mind regurgitated the memory of where she’d seen Bailey Davenger. “You married _him_? But he’s a flaming-,”

“BB, you may not be able to accept the fact I’m gay, but you will-,”

“Republican—wait, what?” Bonnie blinked.

“Respect me and your stepfather.” He placed an arm around Bailey’s shoulders, while skewering her with a look about as emotional as a white wall. “Regardless if you agree with who I was born to be or not.”

“Please, pssh.” She used both hands to wave his words back at him. What he was not going to do was come for her like she was a gay basher or some certifiable homophobic. “I’ve never had any problems with you being gay. You’re the one who decided to camp out in the back of your closet with, apparently, an entire family.”

“How’d you-,”

“Your browser history for one. Precisely, how many Crockett and Tub’s fanfiction pairings are you going to read before you figure out it’s time to bury that dead horse? That stupid show has been cancelled longer than I’ve been alive!” She raged, while feeling like she was the one an outburst away from having a massive stroke. Her fingers interlaced with Kol’s once he reclaimed his spot behind her.

Bailey snorted. Amusement twinkled his eyes, while he gently bounced and swayed from side to side. “You and your obsession with Don Johnson.” He scoffed. “It’s absurd. Entertainers are the worse, Rude. If not for them and that rock the vote nonsense, the country wouldn’t be in such turmoil. Our so called Commander and Chief is a complete nincompoop, by the way. Talking about yes we can, when it’s more like no we didn’t! Damn the slogans. We need someone who’s going to make America great again.”

“Who in the hell turned on Fox news?” She questioned, drilling her dad with an accusing glare.

Did her liberal father really want to spend the rest of his life with a misguided dogmatic television journalist like Bailey Davenger? The same Bailey Davenger who urged Americans to surrender their passports and move to Canada when President Obama was elected. Her dad was a raging Democrat. In what world could they be happy together? Satan and the mother Teresa made more sense than her dad and D-Bag Davenger.

“We’ve talked about this, baby,” her dad chided. “No political talk during family time.”

Baby? Her eyes narrowed. “So let me run this back for clarity purposes.” She said, raising a hand, hoping to bring a screeching halt to the crazy train. “You married a man you barely know, adopted a baby, and if that’s not cracked enough, he’s a Republican?” The sheer madness of it all provoked her brain to throb.

“Your father and I dated for two years before we decided to marry,” Bailey added. When she leveled him with a dirty look, he lifted his chin to stare down his nose at her. “For clarity purposes of course.”

“Two years?” Her world was imploding.

“BB, I’m-,”

“Who are you?” Bonnie whispered.

For the first time since her dad started clocking frequent flyer miles, she recognized him for what he truly was…a stranger. And even worse, a father in name only. She hardly knew anything about the man who’d been there since the night Abby pushed her out.

“Is he the reason for all the extended business trips over the last couple of years?” Her emotions were everywhere. She was so pissed, she could ball up in a knot and laugh until she pissed the bed. “You even missed Grams’ funeral.”

“I’m sorry, Bonnie. But there was no way I could drop everything to make it back for your grandmother’s funeral. I was in the middle of a right to life case,” he blustered. “Had I left, two fifteen year old boys would’ve died.”

Her hands fisted at her sides. She hated when he used the excuse of making the world a better place as an explanation of being a run-away father. “That may be a damn good reason for not showing up for Grams’ funeral, but it doesn’t even begin to cover why you lied.”

Rudy’s face crumpled as the corners of his mouth sagged. He shoved a finger towards the ceiling. “Omitting facts are not lies.”

“Rubbish.” Kol slipped his arm around her waist to rest a palm on her lower abdomen. “Intentionally, omitting truths are nothing more than an alternative form of deception. To do so is indeed tantamount to lying through the slits of your bloody teeth.”

“Take your hands off my daughter and go turn a door knob, boy,” Rudy’s voice deepened. His chest barreled as his nostrils flared. “Nothing being discussed here is any of your damn business.”

“Boy?” Kol scoffed.

“Kol’s not going anywhere. He’s right, dad. You’ve been lying by omission for the last couple of years. All because you were too big of a coward to tell me the truth. For as long as I can remember you’ve pushed me away. I didn’t understand back then, but I do now.” Despite her blurring vision, she jabbed an accusing finger at him. “You resent me.” When Rudy shook his head, she bobbed hers in contradiction of his denial. “You resent me because I’m the chain binding you to a life that you no longer want…that no longer fits!”

“Stop that,” Bailey snapped, while locking hands with Rudy. “Your father loves you. You’re all he ever talks about.”

“Right, that’s why he couldn’t wait to replace me with a fun size orange haired cherub,” she sniffed.

“He’s not replacing you, Bonnie. In fact, he drove the designer insane when it came to decorating your room.” Bailey tsked. “He had to make sure everything was just so.”

“What room?” She rested a hand on top of Kol’s. Her gaze flicked from Bailey to her dad.

“Damn,” Bailey said, squeezing his eyes shut. “You haven’t discussed the move to New York with her yet. Hello, mouth. How’s the foot?”

“The hell! Who’s moving to New York?”

“Worry not,” Kol pressed a kiss to her neck and murmured, “I’d follow you to the bowels of hell if it be your chosen destination, Little Love.”

“The hell you will. I’d stake your undead ass first,” her dad barked, practically foaming from the mouth.

“Undead ass?” Bailey tugged, Rudy’s hand. “What’s wrong with you? He’s just a teenage boy. Stop with all the unnecessary death threats. The more resistance you create between those two, the more attractive he becomes to her. Keep this up and they’ll be wrapped tight in wedded bliss by the end of the week.”

“Perhaps not by the end of the week, but I must confess I have been making plans,” Kol said with a hint of playfulness coloring his tone.

“Yeah?” She angled her neck to regard him through squinted lids. “What kind of plans, Mikaelson?”

He blessed her with a smug smirk. “The kind, which concludes with a wedding night to-,”

“Over my rotting, life deprived, body!” Her dad hissed, before snatching his hand from Bailey. “After tonight, you’ll never see my daughter again. Pack a bag, BB. We’ll be leaving for New York tonight on the Red Eye.”

“You’re crazy if you think I’m leaving Mystic Falls for New York,” she said, working way too hard to remain cool and respectful. “Abby needs me, and so does my friends. Who the hell is going to save them from themselves if I hot step it out of town in the middle of the night?”

“Abby?” Her dad’s determined expression cracked. “Why the hell would your mother need you? You haven’t seen her in years.”

Bonnie lifted her chin. Her gaze steady. “She’s back, and up until recently, was staying at Grams.”

“Abby wouldn’t be so reckless,” Rudy insisted. She frowned. Was that fear dancing in the depths of his eyes? “She knows what being around you would mean in her condition.”

“Why didn’t you tell me your ex-wife was back, Rude?” Bailey wrapped his arms around his middle to embrace the baby. Uneasiness laid waste to his self-assured expression.

Her dad’s searching gaze continued to scour her face. “Because she’s not. Whatever’s going on with Abby, she’ll just have to figure it out on her own. She always does.” He took a step back. “Now pack, we’ll be leaving as soon as we can book a flight.”

“How many times do I have to say, I’m not going anywhere, before you finally believe me?” she snapped.

“Bonnie,” Rudy’s face scrunched as he squeezed his eyes closed. “You may be smelling yourself, but contrary to whatever this undead filth is telling you,” Kol snorted, “you’re not grown. The stench that has your brain ready to jump out of your skull isn’t adulthood. It’s disobedience, and as long as you’re inhaling oxygen within these walls, I’ll not accept it from you. So you can either fall back in line and do as you’re told, or go be grown somewhere else.”

“Fine,” Bonnie seethed through the slits of her teeth.

Satisfaction unlocked the muscles in her father’s face, before he permitted a rush of air to burst from his lips. “Thought you might see it my way. Your stepfather will call the airline and book us a flight, while I gather a few things from my office.” The acid in his tone somewhat neutralized. “That should give you enough time to dress, pack, and say goodbye to your parasite.”

She watched her dad hustle Bailey from her room, and then close the door behind them. After a waiting a moment or three, she whirled around and stalked over to the closet and snatched her overnight bag from the top shelf.

“New York may very well be a vast improvement to Mystic Falls, but our ties to this tenth circle of hell still remains ever binding.” Kol turned to track her movements with a shadowing stare.

“And that’s exactly why we’re _not_ leaving,” she muttered as she stuffed an armful of underwear in the overnight bag. “He gave me two options, remember? Guess which one I’m choosing.”

* * *

 

_Abby found herself wandering down a dark damp tunnel fifty-eleven feet beneath the ground. The soft lights glowing at the end of the pitched in black channel gave guidance to her feet. Bennett magic, though altered and dark as it may be, beckoned to her. She could feel her baby girl. Her anxiety and fear was palpable, but so was her resolve. Truth be spoken, the determination she exuded, dampened the scent of fear, while muting her anxiety. Whatever task she’d set her mind to do would be carried out. Hell and its consequences be damned._

_The tunnel gave way to a cavern, filled with a thousand and one flickering flames. At least that’s how many candles there might as well had burned. Those waxed bastards were every damn where. Even wooden poles wrapped in, kerosene drenched, cloth blazed at random sites inside the cave. What a fucking waste! Even if the world found itself hurled into an obsidian abyss, there still would’ve been no need for so many damn candles and torches. Who had that type of cash to be crapping it away on waxed wicks and bamboo sticks?_

_A moment later the strange situation gave birth to an answer to her musings as the sight of her daughter whipped into her line of vision. She opened her mouth to ask Bonnie if the sun had decided to take a vacation, but nothing other than air whooshed pass her lips._

_“You have to put up the veil,” the sound of her mother’s voice brought a screeching end to her attempts at spoken word._

_She walked further in the cavern, praying her mind wasn’t playing her crazy. “Mama?” She mouthed. Her vocal chords, however, were still incompetent in their lack of vibration._

_Her baby girl flounced pass her. “Not yet,” she snapped._

_Who the hell did this child think she was talking to, one of her so called friends? Sheila Bennett may have been a lot of things, but not deserving of respect wasn’t one of them. Bonnie B had better watch her P’s and Q’s before someone snatched a knot in her A’s and S’s_

_“What are you doing, Bonnie?” Her mother’s question came out urgent and pressed._

_Abby’s gaze swung from between her mother and daughter. She was missing something important. Their vibe was all wrong. There was only tension where there should’ve been love and joyful tears._

_“I can bring Jeremy back,” her baby girl said. Her tone and expression pleaded for understanding. “I can keep him here.”_

_“Jeremy Gilbert?” Abby mouthed. Didn’t that little fucker leave her girl for a ghost? Why the hell would she want to bring him back? He looked good—living it down—in Denver. Besides, wasn’t she and that deranged Original a thing now?_

_“No you can’t,” Her mother insisted, taking a step towards Bonnie._

_“Elena needs him. This was always the plan.” Bonnie tossed over her shoulder as she hurried to the other side of the cave. “Jeremy wasn’t supposed to die.”_

_No! Not again! This wasn’t supposed to happen now. She’d transitioned to stop this damn outcome._

_“It was the will of Nature. There’s no magic in this world strong enough to challenge her.” Her mother had the, I didn’t raise you to be stupid, look on her face. The expression was beyond justified if Bonnie really believed she could go ten with the mother of all._

_“I have every magic. I have the spirits,” Bonnie countered. Her mother scoffed as her baby girl began to chant and the flames rose on the candle wicks. “I have expression.” The blazes on the torches roared and doubled in size._

_“Stop it, Bonnie.” Fear stretched her mother’s eyes wide._

_Slithering black veins writhed up her daughter’s forearms as she whispered, “I have the darkness.”_

_“Bonnie, don’t,” her mother begged, even as her voice hollowed and she faded away._

_Her baby girl stared at the spot where her grandmother had once stood for a moment, and then she began to chant. The fire blazing on the candles and torches continued to rage, while the parasitic worm like black veins resumed slithering upwards until they reached her face. When her chant ended, Nature snatched the air from her baby girl’s lungs as compensation for the magic she’d wielded. Once the transaction was complete Bonnie collapsed._

* * *

 

“Oh fuck no!” Abby screamed, even before her eyelids had a chance to snap open.

She pulled herself into sitting position, allowing her glance to dart around her bedroom. Her heart pounded. Slowly, but the damned organ still felt as if it would burst right out of her chest cavity. How the hell could dying still be Bonnie’s fate? Her transitioning should’ve been enough to keep her baby girl safe. For she would damn near Mystic Falls and everyone who had the misfortune of calling the cursed place home, if it meant her daughter’s continued existence.

_We can protect her. Give us free reign, Minnares. We’ll subjugate Nature and force the so called mother of all to cower at your feet._ Not this shit again! She squeezed her eyes closed. The cloudy blackness swirling behind her lids, waited impatiently to be wielded. Instead of giving in to the enticing darkness, she shoved the wicked sorcery into a vaulted corner of her mind.

“Be at ease, Abby.” A cool palm rested between her shoulder blades. “There’s unjust cause for alarm. Newly transitioned vampires often suffer night terrors. Lend me but a moment and I’ll fetch you a tumbler of brandy to sooth your senses.”

“I’m fine,” she snapped, while shrugging his hand from her back.

Why the hell was Elijah still in her bedroom? They had a synergistic agreement. He fed her and she allowed him to puncture her femoral artery every now and again. She hadn’t signed up for sleep overs or some fictional grand romance he’d wistfully tell the next chick about one day.

“Here.” He shoved his wrist in her face. “If not brandy, then have your fill of my blood. We both know my essence is rather accommodating when tasked with seeing to your comfort.”

Her magic hissed. _Smite him, Minnares! His wrists are for those who are lesser than you. Instruct the half immortal on his place. Make him bare his throat for your consumption._ “I’d rather have your carotid,” she said, slapping his wrist away from her face.

Abby could feel the sting of his stare on her cheek. She side-eyed him when he took too long to give her an answer. His mask of impassivity remained intact, but his eyes burned hotter than a street corner hooker who didn’t believe in condoms. It made her wonder about all of the secrets locked away in that sociopathic head of his.

“Only mated pairs consume blood from the others throat. The act is not only intimate, but it is in fact sacred.” His blazing hot stare devoured her face, like he was searching for a green light.

No motherfucking go! Abby’s face folded into a look of disdain. She hoped the expression gave him nothing but red lights, brake lights, or whatever the hell light he needed to understand, she’d explore a million different avenues before she ever took that route with him.

_Be wary of the nonsense he spews. For he is a fool whom is ignorant of the true ways of his own kind, Minnares._ No—fucking—shit, Miss Marple! I doubt being an Original came with a damn manual.

“And who in the hell made up that corny shit, Rebecca?” Abby slid from the bed to pace around her room.

The nightmare of her baby girl’s death was still fresh in her mind. If she didn’t expel the nervous energy bubbling inside, she’d lose control of her magic. _On the contrary, Minnares. Control will finally be yours._ She groaned. The darkness in her magic was more relentless than a hormonal teenage boy begging for the panties.

“Ridicule me until your heart bursts with content, Ms. Bennett. The fact still remains, you made inquiries into consuming blood from my carotid. Enlightened minds would find such queries quite revealing,” he murmured as his gaze ran unchecked over her, t-shirt and panty clad, body.

His perverted gaze devastated the crotch of her underwear. When was the last time she had a chance to slip away for an inappropriate weekend? Damn it, Abby! Get your beast back on a chain. Since she’d become whatever the hell she was, sex and Original blood stayed violating her brain. Her hormones had worn her out. They were jumping harder than the first time she saw Jodeci sweating it out in leather in the desert. She gave herself a mental, powdered palm, bitch slap. Elijah was too damn distracting, and her plans wouldn’t plot themselves.

“How’s this for revealing?” She marched over to her bedroom door and yanked it open. “Get the hell out of my room, before I give in to the urge to flambé my very favorite Viking dish.”

Elijah slid from the bed like he’d been rolled in butter. His grace and masculine beauty could inspire books on top of books of poetry for those so inclined to put prose to page. She on the other hand was not Mya Angelou. His undead ass looked way better walking out of her bedroom door, than he did staying.

“Your desire thickens the air,” he said, coming to a stop in front of her. “Are you quite certain you cannot imagine another way to utilize me?” He began to toy with a rogue curl that escaped from the bun on the crown of her head. “Consent to me appeasing your ache.” His intoxicating brown liquor colored irises did something the cool, calm, and very debonair Elder Mikaelson would never do—verbally. His enthralling gaze pleaded for her to have him. “And the throb which assaults you every rising and setting of the sun, will no longer be your burden to bear.

_Indulge yourself, Minnares. He is yours to do with as you see fit._ The cool hand he placed on her hip, fucked around and sparked a battle between her body and mind that put the Trojan War to shame. Her treacherous good girl went rogue and started pushing all the wrong buttons in her brain in an attempt to override her will. Beat the hell down, she rested her forehead between his artistically sculpted pecks. When he moved to close the distance between them, she pressed her fist into the hard prime cuts of his abdomen muscles to maintain the gap of separation.

“Not only do I have my Jack rabbit on deck, but I also have a fresh pack batteries. So I’m good,” with that said, she shoved him across the threshold and closed the door.

“My goddess. I thought he was going to stand there imitating a statue all night,” the familiar raspy southern twang of Sheila Bennett’s voice came close to stopping her slow beating heart. Abby froze, too afraid to turn around. “Well, are you gonna watch the door all-night, or are you gonna turn around and face me?”

She spun on her heel to regard her mother or the demon impersonating her late mother. “Mama?”

“Hello, Abigail,” her mother said, running a critical gaze over her. “I would say you look well, but you’re undead and we both know I’d never be able tell that lie with a straight face.”

“Humph.” She bobbed her head. “Here we go. Should’ve known you’d figure out a way to cross the veil just to tell me how rundown I look and how questionable my actions have been as a mother since I’ve reentered Bonnie’s life.”

“Oh child please.” Sheila shooed her off with a hand. “I’m not here to question your choices, Abigail. I’m sure you have your reasons for deciding to forsake your upbringing, magic, heritage and nature to become a _vampire_.”

“You act as if I turned on purpose, mama,” she said, striding over to the bottle of Merlot on her wardrobe.

“Child, please.” Her mother snorted. “Do I look like a damn fool to you? Don’t forget I raised you. So stop with all this foolishness. Why the hell did you allowed this to happen to you?”

“Mama, what do you want me to say? I’ve already told you-,”

“Lie to me one more damn time, Abigail Bennett!”

Abby exhaled her frustration as she poured wine into a paper cup. Without taking her eyes from the temporary solution of all her worries, she spoke, “I had a vision the night I transitioned.” The familiar weight of her mother’s stare further loosened her unwilling tongue. “I saw Bonnie die.” She downed the cup of wine, before refilling it with the dark red fluid. “Tell me, what the hell kind of mother would I’ve been to cross over knowing what fate had planned for my baby girl?”

“Abby,” Sheila said in a tone she always used when she found Abby neck deep in a mess of her own making. “Fate will have her way no matter what side of the veil you’re standing on when she comes calling.”

“Not this time, mama,” she said. Clutching the bottle of wine, she drifted over to the bed and dropped down on the edge of the mattress. “Let Fate fuck around and shit the bed, thinking she can come for Bonnie. By the time I’m finished with that bitch she’ll know there’s no will on this planet greater than mine. Especially, not when it comes to my baby girl.”

Her mother shook her head, while slamming her low with a glare. “As always, you’re picking battles that don’t need winning. Can you even imagine how many of our kin you’ve pissed off with your transition?”

“Do you really think I give a damn about those dead biddies stalking from the other side? You know they tried to kill your granddaughter to help Esther’s deranged ass.” The muscle in her mother’s jaw twitched. Her reaction barely registered, but the understated clench of her back teeth indicated Sheila’s displeasure over the whole Esther and Original fuck fest.

“You aren’t safe. Neither is Bonnie.” Her mother gave the bottle of wine a long cotton mouthed look before reclaiming her gaze. “Ayana’s been having meetings with the Original witch. Meetings that require powerful privacy spells.”

“Okay,” she paused to take a long sip of wine straight from the bottle. After the bitter red slid easily down her throat, she continued. “If they wanna have a go at my crown, then I’ll make sure they have ample space and shit ton of opportunity.” The darkness in her magic stirred with approval.

“This is not a game, Abigail! Your magic may be strong, but they are many.” Sheila snatched the bottle from her grasp and slammed it down on the night stand. “My granddaughter needs you focused. Being sloshed out of your, got damn, skull isn’t going to do either one of you any favors.”

Abby almost swallowed her tongue, while her eyes swelled from their sockets and threatened to hit the floor. “How’d you-,”

Sheila eyes narrowed to slits of hazel. “You and Bonnie have targets on your back, which means you need to be more cautious and cunning than President Obama at a Klan rally.” Her mother’s warm palm slipped in hers.

“There issues are with me, Mama. Not Bonnie.” She covered their linked hands with her free one. “She’s just a child who has only a small understanding of the magic she possesses and what it truly means to be a Bennett Witch. My baby girl is hardly a threat to their precious Bennett Legacy. So why come for her?”

“All I know, is it has something to do with her and that Original boy sharing a soul,” Sheila said, while taking a seat next to her daughter on the bed. “If she accepts him as her mate, then the curiosity you present will be nothing compared to what they’ll become.”

Abby laughed despite the lack of humor to be found in her daughter’s twisted predicament. “I knew Kol Mikaelson would be trouble the first time I lifted the lid on his coffin. And he only reaffirmed my beliefs the morning his arrogant ass swaggered from Rudy’s front door.”

“I agree. No good can come from Bonnie’s association with the younger Mikaelson boy, but he’s not the Original to whom I was referring,” her mother said in a tone solely meant for spilling tea.

Abby side-eyed the hell out of Sheila. “If not Kol, then who?”

“The Hybrid.”

“Klaus?!” Abby howled from the bottom of her underworked lungs. “He’s the other half of my baby girl’s soul?”

Her mother thumped her chin. “Close your damn mouth, Abby. Anyone with a functioning third eye can see their auras are two halves of the same whole.”

“Shit.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “How am I going to protect her from all of this supernatural bull, Mama?”

“If you really wanna help Bonnie, then you need to understand what the hell you’ve become.” Sheila held her gaze with a steady unblinking stare.

“I’ve read and reread every single one of Jonas Martin’s grimoires. There’s nothing in any of those books that even begins to explain what’s happening to me.”

“Forget Jonas Martin’s grimoire collection. Most of those magical pamphlets belonged to single generation witches who felt the need to write down the most banal of spells. If you wanna know how to start a fire or float a feather, then go right ahead and scour those tenderfoots’ booklets until your eyes cross,” her mother said with a cocked brow and a one shoulder shrug.

Abby snorted. With all the shade her mother continued to throw, her magic would never be free of the darkness. “Well what would you have me do, Sheila B.?”

“There is a coven of witches in Tanzania who practices black magic and still worships the old religion. They’re called the Morrigan.” Her mother squeezed her hand, and then stood.

“That’s impossible. Genuine black magic no longer exists. Believe me, I’ve looked.” She assured. “The disciples of the old religion was put down over two thousand years ago. The beginner of our line ensured the extinction of the old ways in the name of Nature and spirit magic. You used to tell me bed time stories of Qetsiyah, and the Magical Blood Wars.”

“Who the hell knows how those fanatics managed to avoid the purge? You just better be glad they survived, because they’re the very last of your hope,” her mother said.

_She speaks the truth, minnares._ Of course she does, Abby fumed. Sheila Bennett had so many damn secrets she’d taken to the grave, they could barely close the lid on her coffin. Anger drove her to stand. “Where was this information when I was looking for practitioners to cleanse my magic of darkness? Why am I just hearing about this coven now?”

“Because I didn’t know, Abigail.” Her mother’s bright orange aura flared. The potent surge of magic caused Sheila’s curls to straighten and snap back into place in an impossibly slow motion. “Not until I crossed the veil. By the time I learned of the coven, the spirits’ proclamations had already come to past. You were back in Bonnie’s life to help her carry out their will.”

“I’m done caring about the Bennett spirits and their will.”

“Just as well,” Sheila said as she began to fade. “Your focus should be centered on getting to Tanzania and finding that damn coven.”

“But I’m a Bennett and the undead. They’d rather see me desiccated, than utter a single chant to help me.” Abby rushed forward, while urgency invaded her tone.

A closed lip smile highlighted the astute glint in her mother’s caramel toned eyes. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Abigail. You’ve always been a step ahead of everyone else,” Sheila said before she completely vanished.

“That’s because you raised me to be a leader, Sheila B,” she muttered to herself.

“You were born to lead, Abigail Bennett.” Her mother’s voice echoed off of her bedroom walls. “All I did was make you aware of who you are, and the mountains you were created to move.”

* * *

 

“You are all types of freaky, lady,” the quite inebriated cur said as he lay supine on the forest floor with his eyes closed. He licked his fleshy lips, no doubt anticipating the moment he perceived to come next. “Must admit, I’ve never done the wild thing in the wild before.” Nervous laughter bubbled from his lips. “With all the squirrels, coons, and doo dads watching. Oh, wow! You got me whizzing just thinking about it.”

“You must be silent, lover.” A frustrated sighed rushed from Esther’s mouth as she clutched the athamae over her head, while desperately endeavoring to maintain her concentration.

She’d blundered the invocation three times since she initiated the spell. Each folly caused her to have to begin anew. The blithering son of a pig simply could not manage to hold his unprompted lips together. His incessant prattle knew not the meaning of end! For her next sacrifice, she intended to invest in rope. Ah, and a gag. A gag with a ball that could be shoved into the sacrificial human’s mouth.

The same sort the fetching leather clad madam utilized on her prisoner of passion in the moving picture Donovan insisted she observe with him. And well she did, for the verbal restraint in its construction was rather ingenious. Why, if only she’d been in possession of such an object a thousand years ago. Ha! Her faithless hound of a husband would’ve no doubt known his place.

“Sit on my face and I swear you won’t hear a peep out of me.” Esther scoffed. She would not seat herself upon the buffoon’s face, even if her hind quarters depended upon such a loathsome act. “It’s all I’ve been able to think about since you flounced into the bar. I’ve never tasted anyone as sophisticated as you. Bet you glide across the tongue better than lobster and caviar…or like that stuff they scarfed down on Dynasty all the time. Think they called it pate. Yeah, it was pate. Bet you taste just like pate.”

Did she really require another sacrifice? Could she not just dispatch the cretin, before he had the opportunity to procreate? “Gonna be a real shame sending you back to Satan, but all whores belong in hell. There’s just no getting around it, classy lady.”

“Indeed, hell often does reside around classy ladies.” Esther agreed, though she’d managed to only hear but a few words, here and there. For she’d bestowed a great portion of her attentiveness to completing the chant, and on the magical blade, which now glowed amethyst.

“That’s not what I said, Silly Filly!” The imbecile’s dull mucky brown eyes snapped open to regard her, but then protruded from his thickened skull when his gaze collided with the glowing athamae. “The whore of Babylon!” The idiotic drunkard’s appendages flapped back and forth like a tortoise turned on its shell.

Taking advantage of his unfortunate position, Esther climbed on his bloated belly, and then gripped his sides with her knees. “Fear not, you filthy beast. I mean to provide your wretched soul with great purpose. My word is yours. There will be insurmountable meaning in your demise.”

She attempted to plunge the blade in the center of his chest, but the insufferable mongrel took hold of her wrists when the point of her dagger was but a mere inch from its mark.

“Not tonight, you jezzy bell! The voices warned me you’d come,” he gasped as they wrestled the other for control over the athamae. “Reckon you know what that means.”

“Voices?”

“Means I’ll be tossing you back into the same lake of fire you slithered from, you sneaky little slut.” His wide hips left the ground in jerky up thrusting movements. He nearly unseated her from all of his thrashing. Once her perch upon him became precarious, he slammed his free arm into her and she tumbled sideways from his hulking body. She lost her grip on the handle of the magical dagger. “I’ve trained years for this moment. Your daughters in wickedness, gave me bookoos of practice. Slicing their rotten flesh to ribbons, taught me exactly what I needed to know to vanquish you, Lilith!”

“Who in bloody blazes is Lilith?” Esther tucked and rolled to avoid being pummeled by two beefy fists.

The eve had taken a turn for the unexplainably strange and she hadn’t even a pittance of time to lend such nonsense. She reached for the talisman nestled between her bosoms only to have her hand come away wanting. Her heart hurled itself at her ribs. The crystal must’ve slipped from her neck when she tumbled to the ground.

“Your tricks won’t work on me, because I see you for who you are.” He climbed to his feet, and then began to slowly stalk towards her. A grin twisted his grotesque lips in the most unbecoming way as her crystal dangled from one his tightly clenched hands. “You’re the mother of all monsters, whores, and Hillary Clinton.”

“Yes, yes,” she said, while scurrying backwards on her hands and feet. “You’re correct, I am the mother of monsters, and while whore is a harsh word to be utilized in description of my wayward daughter, I’ll be the first to confess Rebecca could benefit in being a bit more selective in who she invites to breech her borders, but I know not of this Hillary Clinton to whom you refer.”

A despicable smirk cursed his unfortunate mouth. “You may be the whore who corrupted Babylon, but you sure are a class act. That accent of yours gives me chills, woman! Ooh wee! I can’t wait to have my way with your cold dead body. I’m gonna rock your corpse until rigor mortis sets in.”

“Why, I fear your senses have travelled beyond your reach,” she sputtered.

When he stooped to lay claim to her ankle, she kicked him in the face with the point of her heeled boot. The squeal he released reminded her of Mikael’s prized hog. Rolling free of his blubbering flesh padded frame, she reclaimed the athamae before climbing to her feet. He whirled away holding his eye. Her grip tightened around the dagger. The sniveling dog! She would perish before she allowed him to defile her person…or remain among the living, since he was after all a necromancer. The vilest of sorts.

“My got damned eye,” he wailed. “What’ve you done to my eye, you cunt?”

“You dare?” She gasped. “Never mind your bloody eye, for I will have your insolent tongue.”

Rage feasted on her cautious nature and propelled her forth. Before she could contemplate her actions, she leaped on his back. When she attempted to lock her legs around his wide waist, he snatched her over his shoulder, and then unburden himself by discarding her on the ground. The sparse amount of oxygen in her lungs burst free upon her body’s impact with the forest floor.

Stunned and jarred from her ungraceful landing, she could only gaze into the senseless wild eyes of her sacrificial captive and think…damnation! Oh, why in bloody blazes did she not select the toothy dullard who donned spectacles and struggled with a speech impediment? Why, he was nothing more than bones housed in skin. Had she chosen him, she’d be back in her apartments by this point viewing Meredith Grey and her dream worthy doctor. Due to her blunder however, she now found herself locked in combat with a gorilla beast three times her person for the explicit right to subsist.

Her former victim turned homicidal villain, ambled forth until his oversized frame extinguished the light of the moon. The blade’s dim glow repelled a trifle of the darkness spawned from her antagonist’s shadow. She clutched the handle of the athamae in both hands with the sharp tip of the magical blade pointed towards its intended mark.

Without even a suspicion of warning, the hulking mountain of flesh lurking over her stumbled, and afore she could fully comprehend what may come next, she discovered herself submerged by a sea of rancid flesh. A grunt, howl, and whimper later, she was freed from the confinement of her cumbersome meat coffin. Someone did her a kindness and assisted her to a standing position. Wetness saturated her from neck to midsection.

“Esther, I know you said not disturb you, but Donovan’s-,” the motel manager began.

She disregarded formality and flung herself into Esau’s limp hanging arms. “You’ve delivered me from the oddest of endings. Did you know that driver of trucks had a mind to butcher me, and then molest my corpse? Why, had you not come along and assist me in slaying this beast my life would be forfeit. For such unflinching bravery, my gratitude is eternally yours.”

She stooped next to the mammoth of a man to pry her talisman from his fist. Once achieved she stood to regard Esau with her most pleasant smile.

“Um, no, no. That’s really unnecessary.” The humble man raised his blessed hands. “Save your gratitude, Ms. Mikaelson. All I want is for you to keep your promise.”

The torches reignited when the pads of Esther’s index finger and thumb slid over the crystal talisman. A gasp escaped the confines of Esau’s mouth as his frightened stare traveled over bloodstained torso. Ignoring his somewhat feminine sensibilities, her searching gaze, landed on her failed opponent. The handle of the athamae protruded from the center of his chest as glassy unseeing eyes peered into the heavens.

An inappropriate laugh galloped from her lips. She covered her mouth with the palms of her blood tainted hands to staunch the sound. Her triumph over the rotter was a prelude to the conclusion she’d impart upon her miserable children. And should the young Bennett witch attempt to occupy the ground between her and her detestable offspring she’d conclude her as well.

“The fuck!” Her eyes almost leaped from her head. The sound of Donovan’s voice at her back forced her heart to beat swift blows into her breasts. “You dropping bodies around my spot, E? Nah, that shit don’t work for me or my legitimate interests,” a clicking noise, spun her on her heel to come face to barrel with a rather formidable weapon. “Think it’s time I see other bitches, and I know its way past time that you hollered at the bitch who made you.”

“Sopor,” she uttered, while caressing the crystal.

Donovan’s eyes rolled upwards, and then closed. His body crumpled at her feet. She peered down at him as her skull threatened to burst from troublesome regrets. For, since she’d squandered a portion of the magic in the talisman, the blade would require another sacrifice. A sigh slid from her lips as she gazed down at her lover’s uncorrupted handsome features. If only…

She closed her mind to such thoughts. There was no reason in shedding tears over milk which no longer resided in the pail.

“Esau, do me a kindness and place Donovan in the storage compartment of his automobile.” She walked over to her would be killer. A murmured chant returned the gory magical blade to her waiting palm. “Also, excavate a portion of earth to entomb this carcass. For it is my will that the maggots and night crawlers feast well this eve.”

“You’re insane, woman. This is all getting too far out of pocket. Donovan was never-,”

Oh, blessed goddess of creation! Must she suffer such unprovoked defiance at every turn when the fruition of her aspirations was nigh? She clutched her talisman in her palm, and forcibly conveyed her desire. “This topic will not be conversed again. I’ve not misremembered you maintained the continuation of my existence, and for such I am indebted. My life, however, is outmatched by my purpose. Place yourself in the path of my aim and you’ll discover your life holds even less value. Now go, do my bidding.”

Esther dismissed her savior and reluctant servant without affording him a second glance. She strode over to a tree stump nearly as old as she. It served as a provisional altar, which held a map and other magical paraphernalia. All had fallen into place. The time had arrived for her to locate her eldest son and most unexpected disappointment.

In a single move she dangled the talisman over the map. The crystal glowed the same shade as the blade. A smile coiled her mouth. Yes, sacrificial soul magic would serve her well. She pierced her hand with the point of her blade. Her dark ruby life force, seeped from her palm to pool in the center of the page. She then began to chant a litany in Latin. Once the talisman connected with the chosen progeny directly linked to her blood line, the thick fluid trundled across the page until it reached West Virginia. After which, the slightest of dribs parted from the crimson drop and continued on only to halt upon Mystic Falls.

Why the little reprobate! He’d aligned himself with his demonic siblings. What other interpretations were to be found for Finn’s current location? Variables. She abhorred the bloody lot of them. No matter, she’d traveled too far to allow her treacherous son’s betrayal to be a deterrent. She slammed the point of the blade into the crystal. The screaming soul of the recently departed slipped easily into the talisman. The gemstone vibrated from the additional power. Satisfaction swelled within the deepest depths of her. Soon the remaining balance of her debt to nature would be repaid and her eternal rest would finally know peace. The plot would proceed as scheduled.

* * *

 

“Can you believe that hypocrite took my car?” His little love asked.

Kol held his tongue. For he knew there was no answer that would serve her to satisfaction. Since they’d departed from her residence. She’d expressed her ire by making inquiries into her father’s action during their confrontation. Inquiries, which apparently didn’t require responses. He’d ascertained that fact by the swift cutting edge of her lethally sharp tongue. When he’d attempted to offer his exceptional insight on her father’s thoughtlessness and implied abandonment as a parent, she’d bloody berated him as if she were a bloody shrew from a poorly plotted Shakespearean travesty.

On she raged of him not comprehending her father or, and he quoted, his struggle as a single dad attempting to raise a woman. Rubbish! Anyone who spent a majority of their time gallivanting about the globe, would undoubtedly discover child rearing to be a struggle. After all, being ever present assisted greatly along the path of ensuring the superior upbringing of one’s offspring. Even his bitch of a mother grasped that concept.

“Worry not, little love,” he said. His hand found her thigh, and he intentionally allowed his little finger to graze her intriguing crotch. Memories of how easily she’d melted on his tongue infiltrated his mind. The urge to bring about a pleasurable end to what she’d instigated earlier, rode him harder than, the bare arse, Lady Godiva. “I’m positive when emotions begin to descend, your father will see to the return of your automobile. Until said time, Nik will just have to endure us utilizing one of his many over compensations.”

His beautiful seducer’s eyes travelled over the supple black leather interior, and the complex musical system. A small half smile further offset the symmetricity of her mouth. “As much as it slays me to even ask Klaus for the time of day let alone use of one of his cars, guess I should be grateful we’re not walking.”

A telling haggard sigh crept from her lips.

“We don’t have to undertake such a trying this early in the morn. The sun will soon rise to greet the sky and you have yet to close your eyes, little love.” His hand left her thigh to cup her cheek. “I’m sure the homicidal history instructor’s incapacitation will hold long enough for you to rest.”

She nuzzled his palm. “Maybe, but I’m doing this now, Kol.”

“Why must you discount your own distress simply because the doppelganger beckons?” Oh, how he resented the Salvatores’ favored pet, and what she meant to his mate. Bonnie would bloody martyr herself yet over a nonsensical cause inspired by that insipid bit of fluff. “You’ve had not only a mind numbingly gratifying evening, but it’s also been wrought with emotional turmoil as well.” He leaned forward to press a chaste kiss upon her delectable mouth. “Only one of those occurrences are conducive with casting unpracticed incantations. Would you care to place your brash on which one will aid in your endeavors?” He placed another kiss at the corner of her lips.

An unwilling moan vibrated within her throat. “Not even if I had Bill Gates’ bank account. Your ego has more than enough hot air without me adding fuel to your already well-established arrogance.” Mischief glinted her emerald jade toned eyes, before she cast her gaze away to stare at the doppelwench’s house. “Besides, I’m not here because Elena crooked a finger. Innocent people are dying, because Alaric’s losing his damn mind. If I leave now and he escapes…” Her head swung slowly from side to side as her gaze reclaimed his. “Alaric killed Care’s dad, and yet she still asked me to help him, Kol. If she can rise above all the bullshit taking shots at her, then how can I not do the same?”

“You’re not their bleeding savior, Bonnie.”

“And my heart doesn’t pump ice water either, Kol.” She leaned forward and pressed her soft full lips to his. Irony found its place between them in the form of her heated mouth and his cold nature. For the sleet in his veins thawed under the all too searing blaze of her kiss. “Now come on so we can get this over with, I’m exhausted and my head is banging.” He attempted to puncture his radial artery, but she placed a hand over his wrist. “Later when all of this is in our rearview.” She brought his arm to her mouth and brushed her lips over the denied artery. Her verdant pools then rose to enslave him. “Did you remember to bring the spell?”

“Of course.” He passed her the parchment he utilized to transcribe the necessary incantation upon from one of the relics in Nik’s ancient grimoire collection. “I trust you were able to secure all the required ingredients for the brew while I secured the incantation?”

She tapped her oversized traveler’s bag. “Please, I’m a walking apothecary,” she said, before releasing her door and taking her leave of the passenger seat. The alluring vision, her skillfully rounded derriere presented raided him of logic and sound mind.

Well Hell’s glorious bells! Would there ever come a moment in time when his desire for her didn’t suffocate him? He departed from his place behind the wheel of Nik’s automobile. With Original speed he joined her on the verandah right before she raised her dainty clenched hand to knock upon the doppelganger’s door.

A moment later the unoriginal doxy answered. Astonishment stretched her eyes wide. “Bonnie?” The delight swimming in her gaze evaporated the moment her mundane brown stare collided with him. “What’re you doing here?”

His mate’s nose wrinkled. “Are you burning sage?”

“Abby told Care it helps to relieve stress,” was her hurried reply. When her flagrant stupidity elicited a scoff from him the muscles in her pinched little face stiffened. “What’s up, Bon? Why’re you here?”

“Caroline told me about what the ring is doing to Alaric. We’re here to help,” his little love replied. “She said she’d call to let you know we were coming.”

The doppelwench’s eyebrows nearly leaped into her hairline. “Who’s we?”

“Come on, Elena.” Bonnie’s luscious upper lip curled at the corner as her hand found her hip. “You know I don’t do stupid questions. Now do you want our help or not?”

“Bonnie, you can’t expect me to invite him in,” she sputtered, directing a pointed glare in his direction.

“That’s exactly what I expect. Kol’s not gonna hurt you, Elena,” Bonnie gazed at him from the cut of her eye, “Tell her, babe?”

“She’s completely safe this eve, little love.” His gaze narrowed as his stare moved to regard Elena. “The doppelwench has my word.”

The twit’s mouth opened and closed several times before it managed to conceive a viable sentence. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Calm down. Kol’s only joking.” His little love insisted.

She was quite adorable in her naivety. Not only did he intend to hurt the pointless sket when an opportune moment presented itself, he also meant to bleed her bloody out. He refused to allow Nik to obtain the hybrid army he so coveted or have Bonnie beholden to a wench who was cursed to expire prematurely no matter what sort of lackluster life she decided to occupy.

“It’s fine, Goddess.” Kol captured, Bonnie’s hand and guided her away from the door. “You have all you require to complete the spell. I’ll wait here until your return.” He pressed lingering kiss to the corner of her irresistible little mouth before giving her a little shove towards the door.

* * *

 

“Make sure he drinks this twice a day. It’ll subdue his altar.” Bonnie placed the container on the counter, and then turned to repack her bag. “This is by no means a long term solution, but it’ll give me and Kol time to figure out something more permanent.”

She’d spent nearly an hour suppressing Alaric’s deranged alter ego. The drunk bastard had called her a female dog so many times she began to wonder if he thought bitch was her name. For all the changes she’d undergone to put Mr. Hyde on a leash, Dr. Jekyll should’ve been grateful. The ancient spell had run the train on her rain maker, and it hadn’t so much as dropped two singles on the night stand for her troubles. If she ever saw that tacky ring on Ric’s hand again she’d chop off his damn finger. To hell with asking questions.

“Is that all?” Elena demanded. She stalked across the kitchen to stand next to her, while hurling glares at the side of her face sharper than Colten Hayes jawline.

Bonnie released an annoyed sigh. She just couldn’t with Elena. “Yep, it’s already been mixed. All you need to do is add two cups of water.”

“I’m not talking about your shitty herbs, Bon!” She slapped the counter, while shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “Did you really help Kol and Rebekah burn the last of the White Oak?”

“Before we go there, how about you answer me this?” Bonnie’s eyes crossed. Elena was working nerves she didn’t even knew she possessed. “Why the hell did you trick Matt into believing he has feelings for me? Thought you were done running mind games on him, Elena. He’s not your raggedy ass my buddy doll. You can’t just pass him around and hope whoever you give him to will be grateful enough to do whatever the hell you want—ow!” Something sharp pierced the side of her neck. “The hell!”

“I’m sorry, Bon.” Elena’s voice became distant, while her face floated over hers from the end of a long dingy tunnel. “But my best friend wouldn’t save Klaus. Not after everything he’s done. The Originals have to be controlling you. I don’t know how, but I promise I’m gonna find a way to fix you.”

“Di…ya…rug…me?” She slurred as her knees buckled. A pair of ice cold arms caught her before she hit the ceramic tiled floor.

“Yes, but everything’s gonna be fine,” Elena insisted.

“Ma…entiya…foot…is…,” She struggled between gasps.

“Damon, hold on. She’s trying to say something.” Elena began to smooth her hair away from her face. “What were you saying about your foot, Bonnie? Does it hurt?”

“It…prolly…will…afta…I…shove it up your-,”

“Easy, witchy.” Damon’s voice collided with her ears even more muffled than Elena’s. “Nobody likes a potty mouth.”

Black spots gnawed on the edges of her vision. Any minute she’d lose consciousness, and be at the mercy of America’s dumbest vampires. The thought twisted her gut and tied her intestines in knots. If she didn’t put an end to their foolishness, before her lights flickered the hell out, they’d have her stashed away for days attempting to brain wash Kol from her mind. Hell, they’d locked down Care’s mom for almost two weeks without even pretending to think twice.

Elena had misplaced her fucking mind! How dare she use mental violation as a means to control her? Rage swelled inside of her to kick the, rotting dead shit, out of the drug induced haze. Without even a summons her magic shot from her center enhanced by Kol’s ancient essence. The power she’d come to know better than her name felt unfamiliar and by far more potent than anything she’d ever wielded. Including the power she’d harvested from a hundred of her dead ancestors to put down Klaus.

Blended sorcery roared through her veins and arteries in strategic pursuit of the chemical invader. The moment her and Kol’s magic clashed with the intruding substance, she lost her grip on their combined power. The cabinets in the kitchen flung themselves open. Plates, bowls, and glasses flew from their respective shelves. Some crashed at Elena’s feet, while others slammed into the refrigerator at her back just narrowly missing her head.

“Damn it, Elena,” Damon hissed. “Did that geriatric hag say how long the potion would take to strip away her magic? If she keeps this up the Original Stan is gonna hear her.”

Bonnie’s mind spun right out of her skull. She couldn’t believe those bitches had the _audacity_ to come for her magic. Why not chop off her legs and arms too? Since they’d plotted to mutilate her, they might as well be thorough.

“No he won’t, Damon. Esther says as long as the sage burns no one will be able to spy on us. No matter if they’re human, supernatural, or the government.”

“Yeah and she also said this stupid concoction would work,” he snapped back. “I’m giving her another dose.”

Her so called best friend dodged flying dishes to dash across the kitchen. “Damon, no! Giving her too much can kill her.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

The hell! A fraction of a second later, Bonnie smelled smoke. Quarter of a second after that, her ass collided with the ground as Damon’s motorcycle boots massacred the ceramic tiles between him and the kitchen sink. Once there, he shoved his—quite literal—flaming hair under the faucet. Despite being still dizzy, she managed to climb to her feet and stumble towards the front door. Halfway across the living room, it felt like someone had dumped a book bag full of bones on her back. The slight weight in her altered state proved to be more than enough of a burden to drive her to her knees.

“I’m sooo sorry, Bonnie,” Elena whispered next to her ear right before another needle punctured her neck.

This time, whatever was in the syringe, took her down so fast, she only had time to blow out the front windows of Elena’s house and think a single name. _KOL…_

* * *

 

Shards of glass burst from the sills of all the windows positioned at the front of the residence. Instead of the sharp jagged edges embedding his person, they glided around him without as much as a graze to his pale perfect skin. The wanker whom endeavored to steal him from behind wasn’t as fortunate. No, he most regrettably found himself impaled from face to ankles in fragmented slivers.

Light glaring from the lantern by the door reflected off the broken pieces of cut glass protruding from Salvatore’s body. A rainbow of colors danced upon the bland painted white wood of the verandah. Who would’ve perceived those idiotic moving pictures Bekah extorted him into watching, knew something of the undead, he—an Original—hadn’t even begun to perceive. Vampires truly did sparkle!

Kol took a moment to regard the younger vampire with a narrowed eyed smirk. The stake clenched in the little sods fist clattered rather abruptly to the ground. His foolishness was quite the impairment. Not only to himself, but those forced to suffer him as well. Honestly, what was his plan? To spear him until they were both overcome by exhaustion?

Kol stooped to retrieve the abandoned stake from the floor. Moving beyond Original speed, he plunged the wood into the center of Salvatore’s chest, effectively nailing him to one of the columns. When the bunny chaser hurtled over the shock of still being among the undead, he glared at him. His stare beady and accusing. Kol opened his mouth to interrogate the shiftless bastard.

_KOL…_

The sound of his little love’s voice, reverberating off the walls of his mind slew the question before it could slip from his lips. The desperation laced throughout the tone of her barely audible whisper pumped undiluted fear into is cold undead heart.

Something reprehensible was afoot. He tilted his head and trained his ear to listen for movement or sound inside the residence. Unnatural silence greeted his superior auditory senses. Bonnie’s earlier mention of scenting sage kindled his mind. The sodding doppelslag had cast a silencing spell. Fury bred from terror, tore a growl from the bases of his lungs. What the bloody hell was he thinking to allow Bonnie to stroll behind enemy’s lines unprotected after besting those two meager excuses for vampires’ only mere hours before? He was a bloody idiot!

Snatching Salvatore from the bondage of the stake, he slammed his hand into the gaping hole before the wound had an opportunity to close. An exhale later he clutched the younger vampire’s shriveled blood pumping organ in his fist.

“Salvatore,” he purred, while strolling closer to the door with the younger of the brothers shuffling after him in an attempt to keep his heart housed within his chest. “Come have a look at what I’ve managed to ensnare. Oh, and do be so kind to bring my mate along as well.”

Moments later the door swung open. “Oh my god! Stefan?” The doppelgänger gasped.

He disregarded her to lend his attention to the unconscious witch nestled in the elder Salvatore’s arms. She lay completely still even as her chest rose and fell with great effort. The scent of her mouthwatering essence bewitched his nostrils. Her golden aura shrouded her body like that of a burial cloth. What the sodding hell had they done to her? A blistering burn scorched his throat. His thirst for blood and vengeance tore away the calm she’d only just given him days before when she’d graced his existence with meaning. He would fucking slaughter them all!

“Before you start foaming at the mouth, let me assure you the witch is fine. She’s just exhausted. Betraying your friends can really...drain you.” The elder Salvatore allowed mockery free reign over his tone. He swaggered forth, stopping just shy of the barrier barring Kol’s entrance. “If you know what I mean,” he said, all while giving him a raised brow grin.

“Tread carefully and mind you words, Salvatore. Your pointless sibling is one tug away from final desiccation and supernatural purgatory.” He squeezed the younger vampire’s heart for emphasis. A reluctant whimper forced its way from the younger vampire’s lips. “Return my mate and I’ll forgo my retribution for another day.”

The doppelwhore’s wide eyed gaze left the younger Salvatore to beseech his elder brother. “Give him Bonnie, Damon.”

“No!” The younger Salvatore wheezed. “With Bonnie on their side Klaus will be unstoppable. You have to let me go, brother. Finish this for, Elena.”

Kol gave the sodder’s heart a slight tug, before raising a finger. “Behave with abandon and I shall take my time with the ever uninspiring Elena.” His words soared from his lips unburdened by deception and emotion. “And attend me well on this, Salvatores. I mean to have you bear witness to every excruciating act I have planned for her until you’re so crazed by her screams you’ll plead to conclude her misbegotten life yourselves.” He stepped closer to the door until his chest pressed against the barrier and he stared the elder of the two directly in the pupils. “You. Have. My. Word.”

“Damon, please,” the simple minded twit whined. “He’ll kill Stefan!”

“I’d consider my own fate were I you. For the younger Salvatore’s end will be swift. Yours, however…” he permitted her limited imagination to fill in the rest.

“One of these days I’m gonna make you eat your million dollar words, Mikaelson.” The elder vampire seethed through the clench of his teeth.

“You have my expressed permission to try, Salvatore.” A cold smile chilled his lips. “Now unhand my witch and know I will not ask again.”

Obstinacy conquered the elder Salvatore’s facial features. “Stefan’s right. I can’t allow you to get your—butterfly wing ripping—fingers on Bonnie.”

Kol’s rage snatched control from his slipping grasp. Like a beast freed from his restraints, he released his hold on the younger Salvatore’s heart to instead rip out his throat. When most of his blood gushed from the wound, he permitted the little bugger’s dying body to drop to the floor. He whirled back around to face the eldest of the two.

“You have two minutes before your sibling is beyond the point of saving. The board is yours, Salvatore. What will your next move be?” Kol taunted, as he zipped to stand nose, chest, and toes touching close to the barrier.

“I swear to god, Mikaelson,” the Salvatore seethed. “If my brother dies, this bitch is done. I’ll tear her apart right before your eyes.”

Volatile energy swelled inside of him. Before even having the liberty to comprehend his actions, his hand tore through the veil to wrap around the bleeding ulcer’s throat. The bugger’s eyes nearly leaped from their sockets, when he found himself snatched from within the safety of the barrier.

“You were saying?” Kol inquired in a deceptively calm tone as his glare drilled holes in the toddling vampire’s skull.

“Whatever happens don’t leave the house, Elena,” Salvatore ordered without disrupting the deadlock of their shared glare.

“There’s no point. He can get in, Damon,” The bane of his eternity had the cheek to reply, while stepping from the former safety of her home. “Just do what he says and he won’t kill you. Because the last thing he wants is for Bonnie to see him for the psychopathic freak show everyone, including his mother, already knows him to be.”

Kol easily snapped Salvatore’s neck. As the sodder’s body folded in on itself he retrieved his mate’s limp frame before it had the opportunity to meet the ground.

Once his little love was safe back in his care, he swung his glare to consider the doppelgänger. “Make no mistake, you and I will dance for the role you attempted to apprise in this satirical farce of a drama.”

“Dancing is one of my favorite ways to pass the time.” The brainless simpleton raised her chin in challenge. “For Bonnie, I’ll twerk all night.”

“Well, it would seem that we now have a standing engagement. I for one am looking forward to the bloodshed.” His regard drifted to the younger Salvatore slowly desiccating on the portico floor. “You have thirty seconds before final death claims this one. He’ll need a couple of pints if you are to revive him. And I’d take care were I you. Us psychotic freak shows can become quite the rippers when confronted with extinction, darling.”

Kol whirled away only to have the blood drenched pike plunged into the stained column cross his field of vision. Not really fathoming why, he ripped the stake from the wooden post, before taking his leave of the verandah. Once he saw to his mate’s safety, he planned to lend a great amount of time to pondering the logic behind Mystic Falls’ most incompetent vampires. A nagging in the most calculating part of his mind warned their actions that night was somehow part of a much larger whole, and if his suspicions proved true, then retribution would be his sooner rather than later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Well there you have it my, clever peeps. After this chapter, I’ll be cleaning tea from my keyboard for days. So while I get to scrubbing, hit the review button and tell me what you think. I’m dying to read your views on the fallout between Bonnie and Rudy. I also wanna know what you thought about Abby’s reason for transitioning. And let’s not forget Esther’s tango with a serial killer. How does this chick always seem to catch breaks like most people catch buses? Oh well, flame or acclaim me in comments. Whatever the review notification brings, I’m looking forward to reading your feedback. Thanks again for taking the time to read this chapter. Hope to catch you next update.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my fellow Kennett shippers. I hope everything has been everything for you guys since we last parted ways. Sorry it’s taken me so long to update, but everyone knows how this thing called life goes. Crazy, crazy, curaaaazy! No worries, I won’t bore you with the deets. Not after it took me forever to get this one out. So instead of putting you all to sleep with an extra-long AN, I’m just gonna run you peeps the update. Enjoy! Oh, and thanks for the all the reviews, follows, and favorites on the last update. The motivating force is real! 
> 
> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. And to add unfairness to poetic injustice, neither does the shows or the books. However, I still intend to pull the characters' strings and make them dance, all while having a ball upsetting canon plot lines!

Niklaus watched as Finn filled the glass vial with his dark red essence. A closed lip grin perched itself upon his mouth. The last twenty four hours had named him the victor in the battle of wills he’d waged against his manipulative slag of a mother. Once the Bennett Witch did her part, he planned to go on a hunt to claim his spoils. Esther’s head would make quite the fetching footstool, or maybe he’d just skin her and utilize her leathery skin to fashion himself a new jacket.

“There you are, Niklaus,” Finn said, corking the vial and thrusting it at him. “Everything you need to oppose mother in a tiny glass bottle. Now, may Sage and I take our leave?”

Niklaus raised a finger. “In a moment,” he said, while stretching his face into a mask of fabricated compassion. Truth be confessed, he wanted nothing more than to finally be rid of his elder brother. Carting his coffin from continent to continent had proved rather daunting. And for the sake of honesty willing out, Finn having his leave would never spell great tragedy for him. In fact, he quite insisted on him acquiring his much sought after exodus. Preferably, somewhere far, far, far, away. After all, the best side of his dullard eldest brother, had always been the back of him. “First, speak to me of mother’s plans. Surely, after witnessing the little witch come to our aide and your abrupt departure, mother had to anticipate the dissolution of the link.” He paused partially for dramatic effect, but mostly to dissect any changes in Finn’s features. When none were forthcoming he continued. “Which leads me to consider her plans may have shifted.”

“And you presume I’m privy to such shifts and in turn would fancy for me to betray her trust,” Finn said while pinning him with a sanctimonious glare. As if his current bloodletting wasn’t already a profound act of betrayal to the mythical beast that begot them.

“Well now, since you’ve made the allusion.” He offered Finn a beyond virtuous smile as he placed the vial in a pouch alongside the rest of his siblings’ ancient essences. “What is our perpetually calculating mother scheming?”

Finn raked his pious fingers through his monotonous hair. “I’ve fulfilled my margin of our agreement. You wanted my blood and now you have an entire vial filled with it, brother. If you and mother want to rip each other from existence, feel liberated to do so without further interference from me.” He made a great show of righting his clothing, no doubt in preparation of seeing his former doxy who waited just beyond the study doors. “So I’ll inquire once more, am I free to take my leave from this house of plots and horrors!”

“Such passion is unwarranted, big brother. If you want to depart, do so. My blessings are unrequired, yet know they’re yours to have and hold,” he said, clasping his hands behind his back. His smirk eternally taunting.

Finn scoffed before exacting an about turn on his heel. Niklaus’ smirk blossomed into a wide mocking smile as he watched his eldest brother storm through the French doors of the study. A moment after his departure, the elder Bennett witch peered around the width of one of the still open doors. Interest arched his brow.

Well, well, well. Abigail Bennett, a confounding case indeed. A witch who’d transitioned to the state of being undead by drinking the blood of an Original. Not only an Original, but the Original Hybrid. Oh come now. Why stand on formality? The truant mother of Bonnie Bennett, transitioned because the potency of his essence. Perhaps she was sired to him like that of his inspired hybrids. Hmm…a confounding case indeed!

“Where’s my daughter, mutt?” The impertinent elder Bennett demanded.

Perhaps not! Respect and subordination, in his opinion, defined a well-functioning sire bond. The witch was blatantly depleted of both. “Hell, when I definitively determine how to send her there.” He smirked, while raising his brows in promise.

“You may be a so called immortal, but that assumed attribute can become a big fucking shortcoming if you continue firing idle threats at my baby girl,” she said, sashaying in with a condescending smirk as her little beady blue eyes scrutinized him rather closely. “Now answer my damn question so we can both get back to our mutually exclusive existences.”

“Why, pray tell, would I know the whereabouts of your ever conspiring spawn?” Her gall set his teeth on edge. If only he didn’t need the little witch to unlink him and his siblings, he’d take immense pleasure in showing the undead Bennett her heart. “I’m sure you’ve mistaken me for the dimwitted feral one.”

The undead cow unhinged her jaw in an attempt to undoubtedly devour him whole, but the sound of the front door slamming open in the foyer clamped her mouth closed. A mere second after, Kol hurtled through the study door. He cradled the younger Bennett witch in his arms. Her usually overbearing golden aura, draped over her tiny unconscious frame like that of a burial veil.

With every labored breath she took, her chest rattled at a volume even a hearing impaired human could perceive. The appealing bronzed brown skin, which once ran over her curves uninterrupted now appeared to have developed yellowish undertones. Dried blood, which reeked of Kol’s essence, coated her mouth, chin, and neck while saturating the front of her shirt.

An aching throb morphed into existence at the very center of his chest. Something treasurable he’d never even considered to possess, slipped even further from his bungling grasp. Rage, yet even more than rage—regret took command of his inclination. The beast in him turned rabid. He rocketed across the room to pin his destructive sod of a sibling by the neck to the open study door. The little witch lay stiff and unmoving between the presses of their opposing bodies.

“What have you done?” He demanded in a hiss, which slithered from the clench of his teeth in a low serpent like fashion.

“Back the hell off,” the elder undead Bennett snapped in a tone which categorically had teeth. Potent dark magic, snaked itself snugly around him, before flinging him across the room. He landed mere centimeters from the flames roaring in the open fireplace. “Lay her on the couch, and then tell me what happened to my girl.”

Kol blurred over to the sofa. With great care, he placed the little witch on the leathered cushions. “It was that fatuous doppeltwit and her sodding lap vamps.” Fury leapt from his baby brother’s eyes, when his glare swung to regard him. His wolf stirred, more than eager to exert his dominance over his insolent brother. “Your _tedious_ , mid-eternity crisis, Caroline Forbes called on Bonnie to aid your doppelganger in restoring sound mind to Bekah’s drunken history teacher. But alas, it was all just a bleeding ruse to abduct my mate!”

Kol snatched the Tiffany Acorn lamp from the table and hurled it at Niklaus’ head. The blasted thing shattered on impact, slicing open a gash in the center of his forehead. A growl, from the center of his very immortality, quaked every brittle bone in his undead body. His wrath devoured Kol’s assault as he struggled against the tight restraints of the undead elder Bennett’s magic. Once he found his way free of the wicked sorceress’ deviltry, he’d see that his younger brother spent the next hundred years at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

“Elena and those fucking Salvatores did this to my baby?” The elder witch’s midnight blue aura flared. Her magic seeped from her pores and thickened the air in the study. “Where the hell were you? Why the fuck didn’t you have her back?”

Kol’s ruthless façade disintegrated until only repulsive guilt remained. Niklaus barked a humorless laugh. “The thoughtless little bugger allowed that nonsensical lot to best him.” He scoffed. His brother’s lack of foresight never failed to astound. “You’re a bloody idiot, Kol. What in the, insurmountable, hell did you perceive would take place after delivering a rat to a nest of vipers?” Even under the impossible weight of the witch’s dark power, the hybrid climbed to his feet. All while continuing to berate his simpleton of a brother. “Perhaps your daftness and lack of vision led you to believe the inevitable end would include something other than blood and gore?”

“Oh, shut it, Nik!” Kol’s rage reignited. “If not for you and your incessant need to create an army of blathering mongrels, Bekah would’ve dispatched your doppelbitch as soon as she was undaggered. Without her, mother would’ve never been able to link us.” Kol jabbed a finger in his direction. Resentment twisted his brother’s rodent like features and increased the thirst for blood that lingered in his eyes. “No matter, I mean to correct the oversight. By the time I’ve had my way with that insignificant sket, you’ll not be able to distinguish the difference between her and that of a sun-dried sponge.”

“Many thanks for the forewarning, baby brother.” He struggled to place one foot in front of the other in an attempt to narrow the distance between them. Oh what he wouldn’t surrender to wrap his hands around the little arse’s neck. “Your gracious consideration will lend me ample time to air out your coffin and sharpen your dagger.”

Kol’s eyes rolled. “Again with the coffin and dagger threats, Nik. How sodding unoriginal of you!”

“Enough,” The undead Bennett thundered, “or I’ll give both of you bitches something to bitch about.” She then kneeled next to the sofa and allowed her hands to hover over the little witch. An indigo light radiated from her palms to engulf her daughter. “Talk, Kol! What happened at the Gilberts’?”

“I don’t bleeding know.” Kol sank to his knees, and then began stroking little witch’s chocolate tresses.

“You don’t know?” The elder Bennett sneered.

“How, Kol? How can you not bloody know?” Kol’s idiocy ascended.

“The daffy little twit refused to invite me in,” he spared them both a look of utter disdain before yielding all of his regard to the little witch, “by the time I realized she cast a silencing spell it was already too late, and…and…” He brought his fist down on the antique tea table. The glass shattered as the solid mahogany wood foundation splintered. “The how hardly matters now, don’t you think?” He spared the undead Bennett the briefest of glances. “You have to heal her Abby, because I can’t. My blood didn’t work.”

He opened his mouth to resume brow beating his baby brother, but when a magical essence tinged in dark violet began to seep from the little witch’s person, his tongue stilled. It couldn’t be! Her magic hadn’t been that potent in a thousand years. His stunned gaze collided with a disbelieving brown stare. Their minds undoubtedly had reached the same conclusion. Esther!

“They hit her with a binding serum infused with sacrificial soul magic,” The elder Bennett said as a single wrinkle marred the skin between her brows. “Esther’s magical signature is stamped across the spell like a damn calling card.” Her narrow eyed glare, swung from Kol to him. “This bitch is actually sending for us!” She nodded with a disposition and resolve explicitly fashioned for winning wars. “Oh, she can get it!”

The explosion of fiery gold threaded with just a hint of turquoise erupted from every minuscule opening on the younger witch’s body. Coconuts, vanilla, and white roses scented the air, chasing away the faint stench of impending death. Life once more lit an aureate glow beneath the surface of her bronzed skin. The aching throb in his chest lessened, while the blood in his crotch pooled. Bloody hell! If he and his siblings weren’t unlinked soon, he just might acquire a mind to bed the slip of a chit. Kol would then, most assuredly, have to go back in the box. Losing the Bennett witch to his scandalously handsome elder brother would unhinge his diabolical nature.

Moments later the swirling indigo light abated from the elder Bennett’s palms. She then placed them on the now peacefully slumbering teen witch and closed her eyes. The muscles in her unlined face stiffened as her pupils moved rapidly beneath her lids. Emotions flitted across her face faster than almost an Original hybrid’s gaze could track.

When the elder Bennett’s eyes reopened they sought out Kol who at present stroked the little witch’s locks like that of a favored pet, while whispering soothing twaddle into her ear. Observing the discreditable way Kol doted on the pocket-sized termagant almost led him to believe his baby brother affections were indeed genuine. The functioning word being _almost_. After a thousand years of indulging his younger sibling’s always shifting whims, he knew such feigned sentiments would soon wane.

“Take her upstairs. She needs to rest without being disturbed.” The undead witch’s regard drifted back to her daughter.

“So she will recover, then? Completely?” Kol tore his fevered stare away from the little witch to consider her mother. “Please assure me those dullards’ machinations won’t have any lingering influences on her magic?”

The elder Bennett ran the pad of her thumb back and forth over the little witch’s hand as she observed Kol from the corner of her eye. “She’ll be fine after she wakes. I expelled the dark magic fueling the binding ingredients in the brew. The unoriginal witch’s technique was sloppy and easy to reverse.” She relinquished the little witch’s hand to step away from the sofa, before impaling him with a pointed glare. The dark sorcery which held him in place released him. “Your mother better get her weight up and eat two boxes of magical Wheaties before she sees me, because I’m going to drop kick her ass all the way back to the other side. And not even the Goddess of Nature will be able to save Esther’s saggy ass from that fate.”

“As intriguing as a magical match between you and my harlot of a mother may sound, I’m loathe to say, there’s a queue and you’ll have to make your way to the end of it if you wish to have a go at our fallacious mother,” he said as he contemplated over whether to have a drink from the wet bar, or go down to the cellar to plunder his private stock. For his peace of mind needed restoring, and only a shelf of his most exceptional would be up for such an achievement.

“You’ve already torn the heart from mother’s breast, Nik. Now it’s my turn to rip the sodding cow to pieces and I mean to have my go. Especially, after her involvement with those witless wonders and your slag of a doppelganger,” Kol said as hoisted the little witch from the leathered cushions.

A sly smirk captured Niklaus’ mouth unawares. He raised his brows at Abby in contrived regret. The preciseness of his younger sibling’s claim was undeniable. There was nothing more to debate. The dispatching of Esther shall fall to Kol. Besides, retribution always did lend a certain order to the house of Mikaelson. A family who avenged together were too diverted to plot against each other.

When Kol took his leave with the little witch, Niklaus cast his gaze upon the undead Bennett. “Well,” he clasped his hands behind his back, and blessed her with his most angelic closed lip smile. “Now that you’ve found your offspring and have the consequences of her follies well in hand, feel liberated to hurry back to all the comforts of your hovel.”

“Calm your nerves, Klaus.” She gave him a smirk which rivaled his own as she strolled over and pilfered his wet bar. Her audacity simply overwhelmed. “There’s no need to worry about a parade of Bennett witches invading your precious museum. I’ll be on my way as soon as my daughter wakes up and I can say goodbye.”

His eyes slightly flared. “Running out on your parental obligations again, are you?” Did the little witch’s mother and father truly believe parenting to be a recurring role? It’s no wonder she nearly died every Thursday night. “I’m sure the little witch is thoroughly aquainted with familial neglect. There’s no reason to posture upon such trivial formalities as goodbye on her account. Just jot her an endearment or two on a scrap of parchment. I assure you, she’ll be fine.”

The undead Bennett laughed. “You expect me to say goodbye to my baby girl in a letter? Who the hell do you think I am, Esther? No, I’ll be right here until Bonnie B. opens her eyes.” She paused to fill a tumbler with blended whiskey to the bloody rim, before assessing him with a scowl of the blacker variety. After a moment of deliberation she rolled her eyes and released a superfluous sigh, “and you’re going to watch over her while I’m gone.”

“Only if I’m gazing down at her, cold rigor mortis stiffened, corpse.” He strode closer to her, returning her glare with eyes filled with mock. “If the little witch is in need of a devoted protector then she need cast her sights no further than Kol.”

“Kol is whipped.” She paused to guzzle down half of the tumbler before she resumed. “He’d follow her over a cliff rather than tell her no if she had it in her head to jump. Just look at how he allowed her to go into the Gilbert’s house unprotected. Elena has more vampires running through her spot than the Projects have roaches and he just allows her to go in without him.”

His brows nearly raised the ceiling. “The projects and roaches? Why do I sense there’s an analogy skulking about in that sentence?”

“Never mind, you wouldn’t get it,” she muttered as she cast her gaze over the furnishings decorating the room, before retraining it on him again. “Besides, her soulmate should be the one who watches her back.”

“You’re absolutely correct in your deductions. In fact, you should run along and cast a locater spell to find the cursed bastard unfortunate enough to share a soul with that miniature harpy.” He said, while gesturing towards the door.

A smirk conceived from mockery and satisfaction, manipulated her full lips. “Why waste the candles and energy, when the cursed bastard in question is within spitting distance?”

His ready response died a miserable death upon his lips. The undead Bennett’s revelation drilled painfully into his skull and invaded each doomed lobe of his brain until every single one of his wits worked tirelessly to discern the reason in her scheming words. Such a notion danced along the lines of blasphemy. Why, he had a mind to cut out her tongue and feast on the slanderous muscle for even daring to speak such inane fabrications.

She cackled. “Pick up your bottom lip and wipe that dumb look off your pompous ass of a face, Klaus.”

“What’s your game, deceiver? Is it your assumption, such deceptions will sway me to look upon the little witch with favor?” He questioned as he considered her through narrowed lids.

Such preposterous ideas provoked his mind to reel. The other half of his soul dwelled with the lovely Caroline. Not the Bennett witch! Never the Bennett witch!

She ignored his outrage and instead raised a glass to him. “Welcome to the family.” He nearly aspirated on her presumption. After another long sip from the tumbler, a Cheshire grin employed her mouth. “Bet you didn’t see that shit coming.”

“Lies!” He roared.

Her insolence and mocking villainous expression grated on his homicidal tendencies. Before his cunning strategic nature could plead with his infamous impulsivity he rocketed towards his abominable undead creation. Within a single meter of her every cell in his brain burst in unison. Matter oozed from his, eyes, ears and nose. His legs buckled. Agony forced him to his knees.

The undead Bennett’s midnight blue aura whipped around her like the anticipatory winds of a storm. Striking him with lashes of the darkest sorcery he’d ever encountered. Blood seeped from the—slow to heal—shallow cuts and forever more stained his beloved hand knotted Persian Kashan rug. The Bennett bitch would die screaming for defacing his home.

“The noon day sun will discover me drenched from head to toenails in your blood!” When Abby had the gall to yawn, his fury nearly strangled him. “Chunks of you will litter the streets of Mystic Falls for generations to come. Stories of your death will be employed to chastise wayward children. ”

The Bennett abomination tsked as she swaggered around the wet bar. “Now what kind of way is that to speak to your mother in law?” He growled at the very implication of such familial bonds. “Holiday dinners are gonna be bitch if you continue to act your tiny ass shoe size instead of your age.” She kneeled before him and took hold of his chin. “So I advise you to listen like your very ears depended on it, because if you fuck around and get this twisted I will snatch those lopsided bitches from the sides of your head. Do you understand me, hybrid?” He gritted through the pain but nodded once. “Good, doggy! Now, pay attention, boy.” His glare singed his upper and lower lids as he held the undead Bennett in his sights. “I’m leaving for goddess only knows how long, but when I do find my way back to this shit show of a town, my baby girl better be more than excelling at this thing called life. For your sake, she better be breathing and winning.”

Before he had an opportunity to respond, swirls of perpetual blackness pilfered his vision and slaughtered consciousness.

                                   ****

Upon awakening, warmth and a profound sense of security greeted Bonnie. Every uncoiled and disentangled muscle in her body tingled. Positivity pulsed through arteries and thrummed within veins. A Euphoric high rode her slow and easy. This was bliss. Beautiful uncompromised bliss. A sneaky moan tip-toed from her mouth as she snuggled closer to an all too familiar hard frame. Sinewy bands of tissue wrapped in slightly warmed velvet soft skin, drew her closer. The erotic scent of sin and lust seduced her nostrils. _Kol._ His name slipped across her mind like a salvation prayer falling from a dying sinners lips.

“The quickening beat of your heart assures me you’re awake, but only the verdant hue of your eyes can confirm such claims, Little Love.” The smooth melodic lilt of her Original’s voice did curious things to the surface of her skin. Call it crazy, but even her goosebumps had chill bumps. “Conclude my torture by informing me that you’re in fact well.”

“I’m fine, Kol,” she murmured.

A grin nudged her lips as her lids battled the welcomed weight of rest. Every thought bumping around in her head brushed against the walls of her mind—blurred and unfocused. She didn’t give a damn. Not when she had him and definitely not when she floated in the world’s most luxurious bubble. She allowed her hand to glide under his t-shirt. Hills of his rock hard abdomen muscles greeted her eager palm.

“Ah, finally,” His voice grew thick and developed a raspy edge as his fingers skimmed the length of her spine. “My misery now knows the sweet reverence of relief. Now shall we see to our lust?”

She opened her mouth with a ready response only to be bombarded with a gang of lethal hate makers in the form of mind splitting memories. One after the other they struck her brain, mentally crippling her until salty water drowned her eyes. She pressed her fists into each of her temples to damn the flood of her shitty recollections. Rudy’s adoring smile as he gazed at his brand new family, gouged chucks from her well-being, but her best friend’s betrayal gutted her. Elena was her sister! She knew Bonnie better than anyone and understood how much her magic meant to her. So how the hell could her so called family come for her powers?

She and Elena may have had their share of issues in the past, but this…this was some next level fuckery that her brain and heart refused to compute. “ _Kol_ …”

“Tell me what you need,” Kol whispered as he nuzzled the sensitive skin behind her ear, “whether it be their remorse, blood, last breath or all of the above…all you simply have to do is utter it into existence and I shall make it so. You and you alone are the orchestrator of their fate, Bonnie.”

“Just hold me and don’t let go.” She burrowed deeper into his embrace.

“Honestly, Little Love?” She could practically hear the eye roll in his voice. “Do you truly believe such a request needs to be implored? Even if my arms were torn from my magnificent physique, I’d still discover a way to honor our vow.”

“Our vow? Hmm. I think Damon may have clucked me over the head a couple of times, because I just can’t seem to remember the vow you’re referring to.” She burrowed deeper into his embrace, while struggling to suppress a grin.

“He struck-,”

“Never mind that.” Through the cotton fabric of his t-shirt, she captured his nipple between her teeth. “Tell me more about this vow you plan to uphold even if you’re armless. Does it have something to do with blowing my back out in Monte Carlo? Because I seem to remember a rather vivid vision of-,”

“I’d never presume to…but now that you mention, I do own property-,”

“No, that’s not it.” She released a sigh destined for the stage. “Oh well, if I can’t remember it, maybe the promise wasn’t important.”

“Not important?” She felt him shift under. “We vowed to never let the other go. How can you misplace that? Why, Salvatore may have very well cracked you over the head with a lead lined-,”

Unable to maintain a straight face, she dissolved into a fit of snorts and cackles.

“Oh, Ms. Bennett,” he clucked his tongue, “surely you weren’t making sport of me. Surly, you wouldn’t be so callous as to mock the undying devotion I have for you.”

“I’m sorry, Kol,” She wheezed, not sorry at all.

“Curiously, you don’t sound repentant,” he accused as his fingers began to crawl over hips and up her waist. The slender graceful bastards had positioned themselves at a perfect angle for attack. “However will I retaliate against such a slight? Maybe a bit of poetic justice will serve you well. For if its amusement and laughter you crave, then its amusement and laughter I shall provide.”

She squeezed her lids even tighter together. “Kol, no! I know what you’re about to do and-,”

He began to tickle her and at some point in his thousand years he must’ve taken a class on the subject. She nearly pissed her pants. His wiggly little a digits had a talent for searching out and finding spots she never even realized was ticklish. Thirty seconds in he had her apologizing between crazed giggles and high pitched howls. Tears drenched her cheeks, and her voice sounded as if she’d smoked cigarettes all her life. By the time his assault ended, she could barely breathe. The ends of her hair pointed in every direction, and all she wanted in that exhausting moment, was to settle in for another nap. He’d worn her out without even removing one stitch of her clothing.

Tepid fingertips began pushing scraggly strands of waves from her face. “Because you are meaning in an existence, which has known only irrelevance and triviality.”

“What?” She questioned as she slowly drifted away to the realm of dreams.

Somewhat warm lips discovered the nape of her. “It’s the reason.”

“The reason?” Curiosity dragged her back to the land of consciousness.

“The reason why I’ll never willingly let you go,” he murmured into her hair. “It’s the reason that vow…our vow…will, always and forever remain etched on my immortal soul.”

Her heart began to imitate the engine of a busted pinto. The damn thing, stopped, started, puttered, pattered, and clunked its way through one beat after the other. “Do I have your word?” She whispered.

“Even if the spell which maintains my immortality ceases to function those words and that promise will always belong to you, little love.” His hand found the small of her back as he dusted soft kisses over her collar bone. Her breath caught. The press of his lips on any part of her always snatched her brain inside out and forced various vital organs in her body to forget their purpose. “The only way I’d even endeavor to let go is if you ordered me to do so, and even then I fear…”

Kol’s declaration willed her eyelids to part. Once the blurriness brought on by sleep and tears cleared she focused her gaze on his near perfect profile. His mouthwatering chocolate browns were trained on the ceiling. Three wrinkles marred the skin between his brows as he continuously tossed a blood stained stake into the air, and then caught the splintered wood with ease.

Worry and a hint of fear, disrupted the serene calmness that usually claimed his features. Without a single premeditated thought, she kissed the point of his chin. Waves of their combined magic slipped into the minute openings on his skin by way of her lips. The enthralling sigh he released became her everything.

“You have nothing to fear, Kol. I’d never willingly ask you to do what I can’t. Look,” she climbed on top of him. Her thighs gripped his slim hips in a vise like clench, “I know this thing between us is new, but after all the bullshit we’ve been through in the past week, even Stevie Wonder can see this attraction between us is full grown. And because-,”

His warm chocolaty gaze collided with hers. “Who’s Stevie Wonder?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She leaned forward and placed a lingering kiss on his thin but supple lips. “The point I’m obviously failing to make is, we belong to each other. Nothing or no one will ever change the fact that I choose you. Not family, friends, or fate. You,” she pecked his lips again, “my beautiful monster, are stuck with me.”

“Those promises have already been declared, little love. My trust in us doesn’t waver,” he whispered as a tiny grin pushed at the corners of his way too distracting mouth.

Her hands slid over his shoulders, while her assessing stare searched his face for any expression that contradicted his words. The hint of fear still resided just beneath his cool, calm, and collected façade. “Then why the hell are you sporting the mask of impassivity? Elijah’s probably losing his mind looking for that damn thing.”

“My stupidity nearly brought about your end. Even a dullard would’ve known not to allow you to go unescorted into a den of jackals. You must forgive me for my short sightedness, Bonnie.”

“First of all, no one allows me to do anything. Not Rudy, Abby, or even you. I’m old enough to make my own decisions and do what the hell I want without asking anyone’s permission.” She rested her forehead on his as she played with the feather soft hair at the nape of his neck. “Second, you’ve done nothing that warrants forgiveness. Truth is, I should be thanking you for getting me out of the Gilbert house for lunatics.”

He moved his head slowly from side to side, rubbing the tip of his nose against hers. “By the by, what in the sodding Hades transpired within those hellish walls?”

She pulled away to capture his gaze. “You didn’t hear?”

“The bleeding doppelwhore utilized a silencing spell to prevent me from hearing what occurred. Her burning of sage should’ve enlightened my dim mind!” He placed the stake on the marbled top of his night stand and used his newly freed hands to grip both of her hips.

Her body’s automatic response drove her to rock back and forth on the hard length straining to lose itself in the cleft of her ass cheeks. The growl her actions elicited from him snatched the constricting leash off her naughty girl, but she had to ignore the urge to ride him until she crashed. It was important she remained focused. Fragmented visions of the Salvatores and the Wickery Bridge sign continued to flicker in the sight line of her third eye. What the hell were they up to now?

“This is not your fault, Kol! This was planned. They waited until after I suppressed Ric’s alter, and then Elena distracted me so that Damon could shove a needle in my neck.” The stench of betrayal calmed the slow pounding build of her lust. “The Salvatores’ have Elena convinced that you’re somehow compelling me. She actually believed she was helping by drugging me and attempting to send me off to the Salvatores dungeon for,” she made air quotes with her middle fingers, “re-education. You know I should kick my own ass for not making her invite you in. Thank the mother of all, that Damon is as cocky as he is stupid. Why the hell else would he attempt to smuggle me out of Elena’s under your nose?”

“The eldest Salvatore may not be the sharpest athamae on the alter, but he’s not so dull as to assume he can best me in a physical confrontation.” Kol’s hands glided over her hips to palm butt cheeks. “He knew well enough not to take his leave of the doppelgänger’s residence while I loomed at her door like the ancient plagues of Egypt.”

The pad of her thumb traced his jawline. “Then how did you get them to let me go?”

Turquoise flickered within the depths of his pupils. “I penetrated the barrier of the uninvited and relieved him of its protection.”

“Wait.” She blinked. The hell? Maybe she’d put his words together wrong and stepped away with a flawed conclusion. “Are you saying you were able to break through the residence barrier without being invited in? That’s impossible, Kol!”

“I’m beginning to discover impossibility has no authority over me when concerning you, Little Love.” Before she could consider the wickedness that glinted his eyes, he used original speed to reverse their positions. “There’s not a law in nature, science, and magic, I wouldn’t defy on your behalf.”

“And there’s not a literal bridge I wouldn’t burn for you.” Thoughts of the previous night’s events slaughtered her peace of mind. “It’s probably why Care sided with Elena.”

“So you presume the blonde dumb-shell to be complicit in the Salvatores’ ploy as well?” He dipped his head to nibble at her bottom lip.

“ _Kol_ -,” Although her scold was automatic and less threatening than a plastic butcher knife, she still made the effort. Caroline was still her family and Kol didn’t get to go in on her without cause.

He kissed the halfhearted reply from her lips, before pulling away to smooth the hair from her face. “Rest assured, Little Love. Her thin dead lips will speak nothing but truth once I’ve compelled her.”

“Don’t bother, Care’s on vervain. Besides, I’ve always been able to tell-,”

A short rapt sounded from the other side of the door. “Bonnie B, it’s me…Abby. We need to talk.”

Bonnie and Kol’s gaze met for a moment, before she wiggled from underneath him. The second she was free, she regretted the loss of contact. Outside of his arms she felt vulnerable. Exposed.

Since the night of Esther’s attempted filicide, Kol had taken up residence in her back pocket. In a fleeting amount of time, he’d become more to her than she even believed herself capable of possessing.

Sometimes when she had a brief moment to inhale and exhale, she found herself shaking harder than a video vixen in a rap video. Had she’d bitten off more than she could swallow, when she agreed to invite him in? Her head screamed, _hell yes! He’s an Original, run bitch run!_ While her magic whispered for her to, _savor him and worry about swallowing later._ Confusion had her mind knotted tighter than the restraints placed on the criminally insane.

She cast her gaze over her shoulder to visually overdose on him. He sat on the edge of the mattress glaring at the door. No doubt condemning Abby to all sorts of hell. A smile touched her lips as she moved to occupy the space between his parted thighs. She placed a palm to his tepid cheek. His chocolate browns found hers, while his hands moved to cradle her waist. The reestablishment of contact between them softened the bones in her knees. Memories of him slurping her down like a milkshake crept from the darkest cracks in her mind. Her core clenched. Molten need leaked from the crevices of her underwear. Kol’s eyes narrowed slightly, before his nostrils flared.

Thoughts of answering the door evaporated from her mind when Kol’s fingers found the button on her jeans. She placed a hand on his wrist. They needed to stop, but even if it meant saving the world from a certain scheming hybrid, she couldn’t remember why. Then the reason pounded on the door.

“If you don’t keep your hands to yourself, Mikaelson,” Abby’s voice floated through the door with all the levity of serenity, “I’ll chop them off and drop them in the first volcano I find.”

The metal button blazed reddish orange and singed the tips of Kol’s fingertips in the process. “Sodding hell!”

“Damn it, Abby,” she mumbled as she grabbed his hand to assess the damage. “Let me see, babe.”

“No worries, goddess. I’ve already begun to heal.” She watched layers of skin stich itself back together over the pads’ of his fingers.

Despite being relieved his healing abilities had kicked in, she still couldn’t help being pissed. Lately, every time she turned around shots were being fired at them from all sides. And yeah she knew an insignificant burn from a button was nothing to an Original like Kol, but she was sick of everyone’s shit. Her decisions were not theirs to decide.

She snatched herself away from him and marched over to the door. When she flung it open, Abby waltzed in without an invitation. Once she stood in the center of the room, her hand found her hip as a nonchalant stare landed on Kol. She gestured towards the door with her head. “Leave.”

“How coincidental, I was about to suggest you take yours.” Kol leaped to his feet, his chest barreled and fists clenched at his sides.

Midnight blue sparks leaped from Abby’s eyes and scared her crapless. Kol may be an Original bad ass but, instinct screamed he did not want it with her mother. And because he was too arrogant to see his own downfall at the hands of Abby, it was on her to step the hell up and prevent her Original from having his ass handed to him.

She stepped in front of him, placing a hand on his chest. “It’s okay, Kol. I’ll find you once I’m done speaking with Abby.”

“Fine, little love,” he said, before dropping a kiss at the corner of her mouth, all while never taking his eyes off of Abby. “Nik returned with Finn earlier this morning. I’ll go and procure the items you’ll require for the unlinking spell.”

Bonnie pecked his lips one last time before allowing him to slip from the room into the hall. After she closed the door, she spun on her heel to face Abby, who watched her in return with pursed lips and folded arms. “I talked to Rudy last night.”

“Really?” She folded her arms, mirroring Abby, while her imagination ran wild over all the things Rudy probably told Abby about the scene he discovered in her room. “Did he tell you about his brand new husband and baby?” Better to keep the focus on her dad than her impromptu threesome.

“Humph, so Rudy’s finally decided to move out of his glass closet. ‘Bout damn time he realized he didn’t need permission or acceptance to do him. Can’t count all the times I told him that in high school.” She shrugged as she began a slow pace around the room. “Things were different back then, you know. Not too many pride parades found their way to the immaculate streets of Mayberry 2.0.”

“The hell!” Well wasn’t this about a… “You knew about dad and you still married him? And you even had me?”

“Little girl, I got pregnant with you before Rudy ever thought to put a ring on it.” Abby cut an amused eye over her shoulder.

“How...I mean…why would he…why would _y’all_ …do…have…umm…” When her words ran the hell out, she scratched her head.

Abby snorted as she dug through Kol’s wardrobe. “Please, this is me. Rudy may be gay, but he’s not dead. Anyways, Tequila can bring any fantasy to life. By the time we reached the bottom of the bottle, your dad probably psyched himself into believing I was Prince.”

Her arms dropped down to her sides as she gazed down at her chipped toenail polish. “No wonder why he found it so easy to leave me behind for weeks at a time before finally replacing me with a new family. I’m nothing more than a morning after regret.”

“Shut your got damn mouth. Your conception may not have been planned, but we’ve loved you from the moment we saw you doing somersaults on the ultrasound machine.” Abby dropped a pair of boxer briefs back in an open drawer, then turned to face her. “Rudy and I may have not been Bobby and Whitney, but-,”

“Bobby and Whitney?” Bonnie’s forehead wrinkled. “Those are your relationship goals?”

Abby raised her voice an octave and continued, as if she never opened her mouth. “But your dad has been my best friend since third grade, and because of that we chose to love each other, you, and the life we so recklessly fell into. _And_ I know for a fact, neither one of us has ever once regretted that choice.”

“Why, settle for each other? Was co-parenting not a thing in the nineties?” She perched at the foot of the bed as she watched Abby make her way over to the night table. “I’ve never been accused of being the romantic type, but didn’t you and dad hope to find someone to…”

“To what?” Abby dropped a stack of empty blood bags at her feet, before side-eying the hell out of her.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “To love, maybe.”

“Love?” Abby said, as she turned her nose up at a stack of black and white pictures of women in various stages of undress. Bonnie did a double take. She knew like hell… Before, she had an opportunity to reach for the offending pictures Abby tossed them back in the nightstand. “Please, we didn’t give a damn about love. Not after how it kicked us in the ass. Why the hell do you think we got shit faced and inappropriate in the first place? After Bill tucked away his balls and asked Liz to marry him, and it became clear Richie was never going to leave Carol, we got drunk and real ignorant. Nine months later you were born.”

Bonnie scoffed. “Okay, I get dad and Bill Forbes, but you and Richard Lockwood…ewe.” She shook her head. Why the hell did Abby even search her out for this nonsense? “All of this sounds like a plot from a raunchy late night comedy,” she said, before burying her face in her hands. “If there’s more, please spare me, Abby. After the week I’ve had my shoulders wouldn’t be able to bare the added burden.”

Moments later, Abby placed a scorching palm between her shoulder blades. “I have to leave for a little while, Bonnie B.”

“Leave?” Her head shot up. “Why?”

“There’s something I have to do that won’t wait. Sorry boo, but there’s no phoning this shit in,” Abby said as she pushed several wavy strands behind her ear.

Bonnie stalked every inch of her mother’s face, but it was useless. Abby’s face was blanker than an unused sheet of copy paper. “My life has been in danger since the night I found out I was a witch. So whatever’s coming needs to take a damn number and know that I’ll deal with it in the order in which it was received! There, problem solved. You can unpack your bags.”

Her mother chuckled a little under her breath. “Babygirl, I know you’ve been standing in the middle of a shit storm for a while now, but you need to find something to hold on to because the winds are about to get so much worse. You pissed off the Bennett spirits when you decided to save the Originals’ ancient over privileged asses.” Bonnie turned away when her vision began to blur. “I have to figure out what I am, Bonnie B…what I can do. It’s probably the only way I can block the bullshit sliding your way.”

“You can’t do that here?”

An emotion Bonnie couldn’t quite discern shimmered in Abby’s blue black gaze. “Sorry, Babygirl. My magic has become darker since I transitioned. There’s not a dark coven in North or South America that can go ten with all of this. Hopefully, a practitioner skilled in black magic and the old religion can explain what’s happening to me.”

The proverbial light bulb exploded in her mind. Sparks of a memory illuminated her brain. “Kol, knows a dark coven in Hattiesburg. He says if anyone can explain what you’ve become it’s them. If you can just wait until after I unlink the Originals and deal with Esther-,”

“Oh hell no.” Abby shook her head. “I can’t wait! Once you do that, once you unlink them and go for Esther, they’re going to come for you. Truth is, I’ve already wasted too much time. Pissing away any more is just dumb.” Her mother grabbed her hands, and then forced her to maintain eye contact. “I won’t risk our kin snatching you to the other side, Bonnie.”

“What’s to stop them from doing just that while you’re gone?” Damn! Goodbye must be stamped across her damn forehead, because every time she looked up Rudy and Abby read it back to her.

Abby stood. “You’ll stay here while I’m gone. Since you saved the Mikaelsons’ asses, now it’s their turn to save yours.” She pulled her phone from her bag and illuminated the screen. “My flight leaves in a few hours, now come give me hug so I can get out of here.”

“Well, can you at least tell me where you going?” Bonnie allowed her mom to pull her from the bed and into a tight hug.

“To hell if the Bennett’s on the other side have their way,” Abby muttered to herself.

She pulled away to assess her mother’s expression. “What?”

“I’ll tell you when I return.” Abby, then released her.

Bonnie folded her arms under her breasts, and bit her tongue to stop herself from begging her mother to stay. “And when’s that?”

Abby’s mouth clamped closed as her dark gaze stared into the unknown. After a moment or two of contemplation, her mother’s troubled eyes collided with hers. “Expect me two days before your graduation.”

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hello my lovely, readers. I know it’s a little early for my next update, but since it took me sooo long to release my last one I thought I’d drop a bonus chapter to reaffirm my commitment to this WIP. So to those who are worried, be easy. I’m in this until the very last period. Damn! I can’t believe I told you the story ends with a period. Francesca is going to lose the rest her mind. Oh well, she’ll just have to get over it and keep this rocket moving.
> 
> Another thing I’d like to address is, I know some of you peeps are worried about the whole Klonnie of it all. DON’T!!!! Trust me when I say, this is a Kennett fic. There will be twists and turns to test all that mushy, gushy, stuff they’re always spitting at each other. Have no fear though, there will be happy endings…oh, and the story ends well too.

“Well, then.” Niklaus stomped around the study hurling pointed glares at Kol’s little love with every spin of the heel. “Is the deed done? Are we unlinked, witch?!”

“Don’t know, let’s find out.” Bonnie’s eyes narrowed until her irises were nothing more than slits of green.

Nik fell to his knees clutching his head. Blood trickled from one of his nostrils. The agony he suffered was glorious to behold. Especially, since he didn’t share said agony. “My darling, your talent for the craft soars beyond limits of the most skilled practitioner.” He pointed the crimson stained stake at his growling elder brother. “Well, Nik. I do believe you have your answer.”

“Thanks, babe,” his little love said as she climbed to her feet and slid her arms around his neck. The press of her soft curves into his impossibly hard length, forced a low lusty growl from the very center of his aching bullocks. A raspy chuckle from her set his senses aflame. “You know, since you and your dick of a brother aren’t linked anymore, how about I blaze his ass and we curl up by the fire.”

“Are you telepathic as well, Little Love? For those are my thoughts upon your lips.” Never being the sort to spurn temptation, he leaned down to plunder her upturned mouth. The taste of her lips engaged him so, he nearly misremembered Nik was still lurking about…nearly. “Leave us, Nik. My witch and I would prefer to seek our pleasure without the hindrance of your voyeurism.” He murmured between smacks and pecks.

“And I would prefer siblings who didn’t incessantly thwart my plans and second guess my motives. And yet, here we are,” he countered in a high pitch nasally tone.

Kol released a sigh utilized almost exclusively by the frustrated, for he knew this scene well. It was from, _The Woes of Niklaus_ , and it had been in production for over a millennium now.

A melodic tune followed by a female vocalist inquiring if his friends would stand their ground or let him down again, interrupted Nik’s rant. Bonnie produced her flashing mobile device from the back pocket of her trousers.

No sooner than she pushed the tiny green button on the screen were their ears cursed by the annoying soprano of Caroline Forbes. “Freaking, fantastic, of you to finally answer, Bonnie Bennett. I’ve called you a dozen times since this morning. Just where the hell have you and Abby been?”

“Hello, Love,” Nik said as he beamed at Bonnie’s portable phone like a certifiable loon.

“Give me a minute, Care.” Bonnie skewered Niklaus with a glare sharp enough to carve out his heart, she then moved to depart from the study.

Kol kissed her once more, before allowing her fingers to slip from his. After the study door closed he spun to consider Nik only to find that the covetous beast regarded the exit with fiery eyes fueled by rage and want. The intensity of his elder brother’s emotions gave him pause.

“I’d happily forfeit my immortality to be privy to the inner workings of your duplicitous mind, brother.” Kol rounded the solid oak table. Methodically, he twirled the youngest Salvatore’s stake between his fingers as he took great care to peruse Nik’s quite telling features.

Niklaus’ blazing glare collided with his and turned to ice on impact. “The inner workings of my mind would send you cowering under your little viper’s manly trousers, baby brother.”

“Why, Nik,” Kol attempted to take on the innocent countenance of a clergy man only to be betrayed by a wicked grin that waged an unjust war on his very assuming mouth. “You must know, any endeavor that offers an invitation into my witch’s knickers will always be most welcomed by me.”

Nik clasped his hands behind his back as he considered him with a pair of calculating eyes which were quite Esther like in the midst of their perusal. “What the bloody hell does that wicked little witch see in you? You nearly introduce her to her end and she retaliates by offering up her charms to you on a platter. It’s as if your failure has no sense of gravity.”

“Piss off, Nik!” Niklaus’ hurled accusation struck him where he housed the majority of his guilt over the Salvatore and doppelslag debacle. “I saved her!”

“Yes, from your own inferior judgment.” Nik brayed louder than an ass. Oh what he wouldn’t give to be in possession of the bugger’s vocal chords. “Don the shiny armor if you must, mascaraed about as the heroic protagonist if you have a mind to do so, but never lose sight of who you truly are, little brother.”

“Spectacular! Is this where you tender your artistic insight into my character? Well out with then, Nik! Who am I? Truly?” He waved the stake about, while doing a little spin so that his bastard of a brother could assess him from all angles.

“The architect of the Bennett witch’s undoing,” the blackguard seethed, “The beginning to her conclusion. You will ruin her, the way you blunder everything else that has the misfortune of falling in your care.”

“And how many butterflies have crushed in your ever reaching grasp? Has jealousy addled your feeble little brain so, you’ve willingly chosen to misremember the, was?” He scoffed.

Nik’s brows leaped into his hair line. “Jealousy?!”

“Do not play the part of the witless or the hearing impaired, Nik. You know well of what I speak,” he said as he pressed the sharp point of the stake in the center of Niklaus’ chest. “Though my goddess may have monopolized my regard earlier this morn, your reaction to her incapacitated state did not go unattended.”

“Must you always perceive the obvious through ninny tinted spectacles, Kol?” Nik spun away to swagger over to his over prized wet bar. “Had you allowed the Salvatores to dispatch the Bennett witch, who the bloody hell would’ve unlinked us?”

“Do you think me sightless, Nik?” Kol zipped forward, closing the distance between them. He jabbed the point of the stake in Niklaus’ smirking smug face. “That I’m unseeing of all the smoldering stares you cast my mate’s way when you presume no one notices. Misplace your guile, Nik. For you beguile none. I’m more than aware of your aspirations to bed my lovely little seductress.”

“I’d sooner see that meter high shrew in a shallow grave, than in my bed,” he blustered, while slapping away the taunting stake. “I don’t give a bloody damn how her golden bronzed skin and curvaceous frame compliments scarlet red lingerie, or how her back end moves ever so sensually to-,”

“The hell…Rebekah!” Bonnie’s shocked tone pilfered his attention. “What the shit are you doing to Damon? Are those fucking fox traps?!”

The stake splintered in his punishing grip. Slivers of wood tunneled into his palm. Thoughts of Salvatore’s heart bloody and dripping from his fist pardoned Niklaus of a sound premeditated thrashing. The promise of retribution commanded his steps towards the irresistible draw of Bonnie’s aura. Salvatore’s lapse in reason had most assuredly betrayed his welfare.

Kol burst through the study doors without pausing to open the damned things. Two lefts and a right later he came upon Bonnie and Rebekah in a vacant dance room. The elder Salvatore drooped in the center of the space. A convenient set of hunting clamps ensnared his mangled wrists, all while securing his capture.

“Why the devil do you care?” Rebekah demanded as she whipped her unbound hair over her shoulder to glare at his witch. “Didn’t he attempt to dispatch you just this morning?”

“Yeah, but I’m not here for animal cruelty, Rebekah! Even the mangiest of mutts deserve respect.” His Little Love countered with the phone still pressed to her ear.

“What the _hell_ is Damon doing there, Bonnie?” Nik’s comparable floozy squeaked from the other end of the line.

“Oh my god, Care! Does Bonnie know where Damon is?” The doppelgänger cracked from the distance. “Is he ok—Stefan, wait. You can’t go over there alone. Klaus will kill you.”

He heard the sound of a door opening. “Sage-,” shattering glass severed the youngest Salvatore’s sentence, before the line fell silent.

“Care?” His Little Love’s troubled eyes sought his. “Something’s wrong, Kol. Sage just showed up at the boarding house, and I think she may be setting it off over there.”

A laugh rattled from the elder Salvatore’s chest. “Looks like baby bro’s caught himself an Original.” The wanker’s glower shifted to him. “Sucks you unlinked them though, Bon-Bon. The wack one get ‘em all deal would’ve made my eternity so much easier. Now I’ll have to pick them off one by one.”

“Allow me to relieve you of such challenges, darling.” Kol moved to plunge the stake into the toddling vampire’s chest only to have the splintered wood wrenched from his hold a moment before the point penetrated the fifth spacing between his ribs. “Bleeding hell…” He spun in the direction the stake travelled.

Bonnie raised her hand. The crimson stained stake, collided with her palm. “You’re not killing-,” a frosted glaze dulled the shine of her brilliant eyes…

_A vision blurred the clarity of implied reality. The Salvatore brothers stood in the open parlor of the boarding house ogling a newly crafted sign that read Wickery Bridge. Smugness wafted from the elder Salvatore like the stench which drifted from the knickers of a successful red light district whore who hadn’t known the comforts of soap and water in weeks._

_The younger Salvatore stared at the elder. Wonder and disbelief stretched his beady little eyes wide. “They think all the wood burned.”_

_“I sold my rage,” the elder Salvatore exhaled with a slight shake of the head. “Maybe I should compel Colin Firth to fork over his Oscar. Think I’ll keep it next to the Bourbon.”_

_“We have a weapon,” Stefan slurred, more than well into his cup._

_The elder Salvatore pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes as if he were preparing for a sodding close up. “Games back on brother. Let’s go kill some Originals.”_

The vision receded, allowing actuality to regain authority over the present.

“Kol...” Bonnie uttered.

“No need, little love.” He flashed to her side. “I witnessed it as well.”

The muscle twitched in Bonnie’s perfectly imperfect jawline as her glare shot to consider the ceiling. “Grab your fucking umbrellas, people! It doesn’t take my third eye to see, there’s a doozy of shit storm brewing on the horizon.”

                                                           ****

“Do I not warrant even a single artless goodbye?” Elijah liked to think he’d surprised the mysterious Bennett hybrid, he however was more than capable of discerning fact from fancies. If truth be proclaimed, Abby sensed him the moment he exited his car.

She permitted the French doors to close soundly, before deigning to acknowledge him. “Why would you?” Her midnight blue gaze moved over his person as she strolled down the paved walk of the crescent driveway.

“Abby, have I not shown you kindness throughout this ordeal? Shouldn’t kindness beget kindness?” Would it desiccate her to declare her feelings for him?

Their time together may not have been well spent, but there were moments—no matter how fleeting—she nearly surrendered to the passion which stalked them so mercilessly. Had he’d discovered her to be agreeable to a more vigorous form of persuasion, he would’ve drowned her in bottles of spirits, while plying her with an assortment of his magical aphrodisiac pills. Her exquisite thighs would’ve loosened faster than a social climbing scullery maid.

Unfortunately, Abby’s refusal to spread herself open for him never wavered, so the lines of consent never blurred. It would’ve been ungentlemanly to continue attempting to seduce her into his bed by means of chemical influence. Such loathsome endeavors would’ve soiled his nobility, and there were two things in his undead life he’d never soil—his suits and his nobility.

“You not being torn to pieces and buried in shallow graves all around the world, is the only kindness you’re going to get from me. Have you forgotten you’re the shit starter of this whole fuck fest, Elijah?” She folded her arms as she continued to watch him with a most unwelcoming expression.

“Will you, at the very least, provide me with the location of your travels, then?” He halted a quarter of meter away from her, and then slipped his hand in the front pocket of his trousers to admire the unusualness of her beauty.

The evening breeze compelled her luscious ebony tresses to oscillate about her shoulders and arms in the most becoming way. Passion fruit and wild flowers overwhelmed his olfactory senses and provoked his mouth to water. An echo of her decadent essence tormented his tongue with memories of its unforgettable tang. Despite all the dung covered Armani suits he urged himself to imagine, his cock still grew harder than a cinderblock.

“Last I checked, you don’t have any papers on me. My whereabouts are none of your damn business,” she said with a stubborn set to her delicate jaw. Although, he forced the muscles in his face to remain impassive, the jagged edges of her words filleted his pride. A truth she more than likely sensed, for her eyes slightly softened. “Look, there’s no need to cash out dreams that’s never going to amount to anything. A love story will never be our story. The leading lady role of that tale belongs to another, and she waits for you in the opposite direction of me. So just turn around and walk away, Elijah.” With that proclaimed, she stepped around him and continued her stroll to her car without casting a single glance over her shoulder.

Damn.

Well that’s rather unfortunate. He would’ve wagered his entire wardrobe, they shared a prized connection. Why, their witty banter was the dialogue on which romantic comedies were made. How dare she not see they belonged together? The moment he cast his gaze upon Abby’s dead form, his undead heart stirred. Emotions he’d never experienced before toppled him. Regrettably, he thought those feelings mutual. He even assumed their pronounced fervor would endure through the ages. He was a complete ass for assuming at all. Once again the promise of love had utterly made a fool of him. How unfortunate indeed!

After Abby’s rear end lights disappeared from view, he zipped to the entrance of the mansion and entered. Ms. Bennett and Niklaus’ voices clashed together in a violent symphony of auditory chaos. Each of the respective parties selected being heard over the option of listening to the other’s view point. Bedlam had no doubt discovered sanctuary in the company of the insane.

Before he had the opportunity to speculate over his younger sibling’s latest sins, a surge of potent magic shook the very foundation of the mansion. The monstrosity of bricks and plaster, swayed. Cracks formed in the marbled floors. Two floral arrangements burst into flames in their crystal vases. The blaze nearly singed the sleeve of his suit! His, Tom Ford O’Conner Base Sharkskin two piece _fucking,_ suit! It was custom made for Hell’s sake! Their madness would undoubtedly see an end to all things good in this deplorable world—or in the very least, bring down the walls around them. He flashed in the direction of the commotion.

Elijah discovered them all in one of the informal musicale rooms, along with Kol, Rebekah, and a soundly trounced Damon Salvatore, whom at some point throughout the evening had found himself ensnared in one of his baby sister’s less creative traps.

“Try that again witch and I shall create a masterpiece out of your entrails!” Niklaus growled through clenched teeth as he pulled himself from the remains of a shattered piano.

“You’re not killing him, Klaus!” The ever judgmental Bennett witch snarled. The little beast even bared her teeth. Kol always did prefer the uncouth ones.

His baby brother positioned himself in front of the Bennett witch. “Threaten her again, Nik, and you’ll spend the rest of your eternity in tiny bits. You have my immortal word.”

“Threat?” Niklaus’ eyes flickered gold. “Why, you’ve mistaken my intent, baby brother. For I’ve done nothing of the sort. I assure you the little witch’s innards will be celebrated in the most exclusive galleries all about the globe. This vow is hers to have and to hold—for always and forever. Even if the spell that maintains my immortality fails to func-,”

“You were spying on us?” Ms. Bennett sputtered through her shocking disbelief. Did she really think them above eavesdropping? Surely, she assigned his siblings far too much credit.

“Of course he was listening. We all were,” Rebekah’s eyes rolled, “you’re lodging in a mansion filled with vampires. Did you truly expect privacy? The next time my brother has the urge to express himself in lavender shaded floral prose, do us all a kindness and burn sage like every other witch worth their measure. Even the simple minded Elena knew to cast a privacy spell.”

“Charming as always, Bekah,” Kol said, while hurling dagger worthy glares at Niklaus who only had taunting eyes for a fuming Ms. Bennett.

“I do try so, Kol.” Rebekah preened.

Damon released a brittle chortle. “How’re you liking team Mikaelson, Bennett? Bet your nightmares didn’t do these maniacs justice.”

“Shut it, you!” Rebekah dragged a barber’s razor across Damon’s neck and severed his vocal chords. His throat, however, healed before he had a chance to aspirate on his blood. Had no one keened to lace their blades with an anti-healing brew from Niklaus’ dark mystical collection? Amateurs!

“Enough!” Their nonsense had thoroughly taxed his tolerance. “Why is Damon Salvatore exsanguinating all over the floor?”

“To bloody rid him of the vervain coursing through his vessels. It would seem our incompetent siblings failed to destroy all of the White Oak wood as they emphatically assured.” To Rebekah and Ms. Bennett’s dismay, Niklaus plunged a nine inch butcher’s blade into Damon’s torso. “According to one of the little witch’s visions, the Salvatores managed to secret away multiple stakes for the sole intent of bringing about our destruction.” He slammed the metal handle of the knife into the elder Salvatore’s nose. “Since this tedious dullard refuses to be forthcoming of the whereabouts of those blasted weapons, the only other recourse is compulsion.”

Niklaus attempted to take the butcher’s knife to Damon’s carotid. Rebekah impeded the attempt with a spiked heel to his knee cap.

“Rebekah!” He hissed through the agony.

She raised her chin to peer down her nose at him. “He’s my plaything, Nik. I’m the only one allowed to torture him.”

“Let him go, Klaus,” Stefan Salvatore said as he entered the room.

“Does no one lock the bloody doors anymore?” Niklaus demanded as he attempted murder on each of them by glare.

Stefan dropped a carryall bag filled with wooden stakes next to his feet, while taking care to keep himself positioned between them and the exit. “You want the rest of the White Oak stakes?” He kicked the bag towards Niklaus. “Well here they are, all eight of them. There’s no reason to continue draining my brother.”

“If you perceive a few scorned lover’s slashes to your sibling’s person will balance the scales between you and I, then you are decidedly witless. The lot of you nearly slew my witch, and don’t presume your attempted assassination of me has fled my notice either. My vengeance shall be epically tailored to all of your offenses,” Kol spewed, while pulling said witch into the protection of his arms.

“That is quite enough, Kol. The Bennett witch stands before us unmolested and your immortality still remains intact. Grand speeches of retribution are unnecessary.” He gazed down at his nails and noted he was due for another manicure, his digits appeared more careworn than Ms. Bennett’s hairy undercarriage.

Niklaus took possession of the stakes. “Elijah’s right, Kol. There’s no need for further bloodletting. We now have custody of the stakes—catastrophe averted. The Salvatores are free to have their leave.”

“The hell,” Bonnie interjected. “How can we be sure those are all of the White Oak stakes? Are you really going to take Stefan’s word, you do know he can’t stand you, right?”

“Her point is sound, Niklaus,” he agreed. The Salvatores had proven themselves to be profoundly foolish when presented with opportunities to openly defy them.

Despite Niklaus’ attempts to incinerate the Bennett witch with an acidic stare, he still approached Damon. With a wide gaze and dilated pupils he stared into the younger vampire’s eyes.

Elijah spared the younger Salvatore a glance borne of passing curiosity. Worry flickered across Stefan’s face, before he had the opportunity to tame his features. Interesting.

“Leave,” Niklaus demanded.

“No!” Damon spat, but even as he verbally rebelled against Niklaus’ wishes, his body defied his will and endeavored to rip his wrists from the fox traps.

A smirk settled on Niklaus’ questionable cherry tinged lips. Had they always been that red? “You may cease in your venture to take your leave.” Damon’s movements stilled. “Now, exactly how many White Oaks stakes did you and your band of morons create?”

“Twelve,” Damon confessed through the spaces of his teeth.

“Three! There are three sodding stakes unaccounted for?!” Kol roared, he tried to set the Bennett witch aside, but she clung to him until he ceased his attempts.

“Where’s the other three stakes, Stefan?” Bonnie pinned him with a pointed glare. “And why withhold only three? There are five Originals. Were you really willing to take your chances against which ever three Mikaelsons were left standing?”

“They were linked Bonnie, we only needed one.” Stefan’s admittance fell from his tongue with great reluctance.

Bonnie cocked a brow. “Were?”

Were indeed! Ms. Bennett had only just unlinked them a mere hour before.

His baleful glare dropped to observe the cherry wood floors. “You should know Finn’s dead.”

“What?” The question fell from Elijah’s lips unaided by thought.

Disbelief and burgeoning anger flawed Rebekah’s features. “The measly lot of you killed my brother?”

Wrinkles and brows over ran Niklaus’ forehead. “How tragic.” He cooed.

“Sodding good riddance!” Kol’s arms tightened around Ms. Bennett.

She angled her head to frown up at him. “Babe!”

“I offer no apologies for my lack of regret over that sycophant’s demise.” Kol stroked the hollow of the witch’s cheek with the pad of his index finger. “Don’t squander your sympathies on my eldest brother either, Little Love. Remember, had Finn had his way I’d be mourning the loss of you from the other side of the veil.”

“How bloody touching! Will you all mourn me in the same fashion when my eternity is no longer eternal?” Rebekah’s eyes searched each of their faces. Not lending them even a pittance of a moment to answer she whipped over to Damon and unclamped his wrists. “Bring us those bloody stakes or we’ll slaughter every last insignificant one of you. Take Damon with you as a show of tremendous faith.” With that said, Rebekah spun on her heel, wrestled the bag of stakes from Niklaus, and then took her leave.

When Stefan moved to zip Damon from the studio, Niklaus utilized Original speed to bar their exit. In two beats of Ms. Bennett’s heart, he snapped Stefan’s neck and before his body met the ground, Damon hung suspended from Niklaus’ fist by the neck.

“Last night when you ambushed the little witch, you did so to what end?” His pupils dilated as he elicited a surprisingly powerful compulsion.

Damon clawed at Niklaus’ hand to no avail. “We needed to take her off the board and Elena wanted to break the influence Kol has over her.”

“To what bloody end?” Niklaus’ eyes turned solid gold.

“We didn’t want to kill her,” the elder Salvatore snapped. “Is she annoying and judgy? Sure, but she’s nowhere near worth the trouble to drain.” He choked out, while continuing to struggle in Niklaus’ hold. “However, if it came down to the witch or Elena,” his unrepentant gaze flicked to the Bennett witch’s before reclaiming Niklaus’, “No fucking brainer,” he rasped.

“Well to hell with you too, Damon. Next time your ass catch fire I’ll be the one holding the matches and Kerosene,” She pinned him with a stare brimming with promise.

“What no insignia, Bon-Bon?” The elder Salvatore gasped between dry cackles.

“It’d be a waste of magic,” she answered.

“Sorry if I hurt your little tender feelings, Bennett, but no one’s life is worth more than Elena’s. Isn’t that right, Old Yeller?”

Niklaus’ golden glare morphed into a fiery amber hue. His grip around Salvatore’s neck tightened.

“Who provided you with the means to bind her magic?” Kol’s human façade slipped. Black veins moved sluggishly beneath the lower lids of his blood soaked pupils.

“Jesus,” Damon barked out another fit of cackles, “he came to me on a starry night, and said-,”

Niklaus gave him a sound shake. “Continue to toy with me and I’ll deliver you Elena’s heart just as you always wanted. Now be a love and answer Kol’s question.”

Salvatore began to cough, or maybe laugh. By this point Elijah couldn’t really discern between the two. He did however, glimpse the evil gleam in his cartoonish blue gaze. “Mommy dearest sends her regards.”

 


	14. Chapter 14

As Kol drove down the I-77 Bonnie hummed along with Alicia Keys’, _Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart._ She watched the passing billboards and rest stops signs without really seeing them. The shit show premiering in her head held her focus. As scene after scene flickered by she studied each one of them in strict detail hoping to identify the exact moment her life went straight to hell while drenched in gasoline. Was it the moment she discovered she was a witch, or was it the first time she touched Stefan at the bonfire? She really couldn’t decide.

Her junior year had ushered forth a Kardashian worth of shitty days. Like clockwork every twenty four hours presented a new stinker and no matter how many times she tried to disinfect her zone her reality still remained shit stained.

Damn. Her brain needed an off switch. Thank the mother of all Kol had smuggled her out of Mystic Falls’ and away from all of its endless supernatural attacks. She required a pause to catch her breath before fate aimed and fired another hatemaker. Hopefully, going to Hattiesburg to speak with a dark coven about Abby would give her the reprieve needed to reset her bullshit meter. Which at present hovered over zero tolerance.

It’s funny how Kol whom she’d only known for a couple of weeks got her better than her day one people. It’s like he could read her mind. F that! He did read her mind. How else did he witness her vision? _Or_ …maybe he had his own vision. She could sense his magic grow stronger with each passing day. So why wouldn’t his powers begin to manifest with the restoring of sight to his impaired third eye? Hell, he’d even breeched Elena’s residential barriers without an invitation. Even the hybrid hadn’t manage to pull off such an impossibility and he kept a gang of witches on deck. Yet her Original’s barely active magic had overpowered a thousand year old protection barrier spelled by Mother Nature herself.

“Kol?” She turned to stare at the side of his face.

“Yes, little love?” He squeezed her hand before chancing a glance at her. “Do we need to stop so you may relieve yourself again?”

“Uh, no.” Her nose wrinkled.

Why’d he assume she had to use the restroom? They’d just stopped…her gaze found the time on the stereo console…four hours ago…oh. Since he mentioned it, she did have to visit the little diva’s room. She gave her mind a mental shake. _Stay on track, Bennett!_ Thirty more minutes of holding her bladder wouldn’t chalk line her. Cam’Ron’s, _Me & My Boo_, sounded from her pocket. She tugged her phone free of her hoodie and glanced down. Matt’s name flashed across the screen. Her stomach bubbled, and then for the fifth time that morning she hit the red decline button. She’d deal with Matt when she returned to Mystic Falls and not a second before.

“Then in what way may I serve you, goddess?” Kol cast a suggestive glance over her face, and then down to where Bob snoozed between her thighs. After his visual foreplay, he returned his soul disturbing browns to the highway.

A tiny smile teased the corners of her mouth as Matt slid to the back of her mind. “Do you remember being a witch? You know, before you became an Original vam-,”

“Vividly,” he answered before the question had completely crossed her lips. “I studied under Ayana from my eighth summer until my nineteenth when I was turned. She termed me a prodigy.” Pride lit a glow under his pale skin that practically illuminated the inside of the car. “By the time I had begun to sprout hair my magical abilities had surpassed even that of my mother’s.”

“Really?” Her eyes flared a little. Esther may have been loonier than a padded cell filled with lunatics but her magical reputation proceeded her by a thousand years. Any witch able to leave that type of a mark on the magical community was hardly a light weight. “What was the basis of your magic? Were you a seer?”

“Bekah possessed the gift of premonition. I was an innate conjurer.” He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

She damn near swallowed her tongue. An innate conjurer? The practice of conjuring disappeared from existence during the purge more than a thousand years before his birth. Even prior to the purge, only one sorcerer in unconfirmed history had ever been known to wield such sorcery and he lived within the pages of storybooks.

Taboo discussions among various practitioners, of whether said sorcerer ever existed at all, still remained the most debated in many magical circles. In fact, she remembered a time when Grams almost came to blows with an occult professor from Tulane behind the very topic.

Powers like innate conjuring—or innate anything magically inclined—danced outside the jurisdiction of nature. The spirits gifted daughters and sons of enchanted lines with magical abilities at birth for the sole purpose of maintaining the balance. Innate conjuring did anything but.

Kol laughed. “Your sinful mouth is rather tempting as it hangs agape in such a disreputable way, Little Love. Just think of all the scandals we could initiate if we employed your imagination and my originality.”

The corner of her mouth quirked, but she chose to overlook his compulsive desire to provoke. “Never in confirmed history has there ever been an innate conjurer.”

“Then confirmed history is severely lacking the key knowledge it requires to claim the title of an indisputable reference. For I was an innate conjurer who honed my craft beyond the expectations of many,” he said as he released her hand to grab a thigh. “Nik adores casting me as the whoremonger yet my passion for magic was unrivaled.”

“If what you’re saying is real talk then no wonder you were able to breach Elena’s residential barrier. Grams wrote several books on innate magic. Every one of them alludes to conjuring being the most powerful of them all.” She gasped when his thumb grazed the crotch of her yoga pants.

His graceful digit began to make lazy circles in the vicinity of her unsuspecting pearl tongue. Her hips went rogue and rocked against the hill of his hand. “Your Grams was an enlightened woman. For had I been in possession of my magic, the doppelwench’s protection barrier would’ve been about as effective as ultra-thin glass when pitted against a sledgehammer. Even the sage she burned would’ve provided her with nothing more than a glow. I mastered dispelling Esther’s privacy incantation my thirteenth summer.”

He added a slight amount of pressure to the pads of his index and middle fingers. Her eyes rolled, while a moan took a clumsy swan dive from her lips.

“Kol…” Instead of the no bullshit chastise she intended, his name slid from her mouth as a plea.

“We should seek lodgings for a few hours…or so,” he said, his tone thick and way raspier than usual.

Her legs opened wider as she regarded him with a sideways glance. An unblinking brown gaze stared back at her when they should’ve eye stalked the road. Every bit of common sense she still possessed pleaded with her to make him pay attention to his driving but, she just couldn’t seem to get over the wet and wild party he’d initiated between her thighs.

At least not until Kesha’s, _Tic Toc_ , pounded through the speakers and dick blocked the vibe. Oh. Hell. No! She refused to allow lyrics like, _wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy_ , to be associated anywhere near the memory of her first time.

“Sorry, babe.” She broke eye contact to put her hormones in check. “Our supernatural issues are real. Stopping off to sweat out motel sheets can seriously f-up the time line.”

“Some moments exist to be stolen,” he said while removing his hand from the apex of her thighs. “And if we wait until time permits I may never know the clenching grip of Bob’s walls.” Tension squinted the corners of his eyes and stretched his lips into a straight line. “I ache for you, you know.”

She bobbed her head as she rocked a face full of sympathy. “I know, babe-,”

“I intend no disrespect but unless your undercarriage has known the burden of knackers you’ve no fucking idea of what I’m on about! Being barred from your golden gates quite literally pains me.” His head swung somewhat from side to side as his heated gaze blazed through the windshield to scorch the asphalt. “You can’t possibly fathom the throbbing ache I’ve suffered within my overfed ball bag since the moment I first beheld you. One more denial from you and my dangly bits will burst, Bonnie!”

She pursed her lips to stop herself from laughing in his face. Damn it, if he didn’t know how to bring the excess. “Aww, why didn’t you tell me your tiggy-wiggies hurt? Would you like mama to kiss it better?” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a quick peck. The warmth of his usually cool mouth took her by surprise.

“If it’s your purpose to ease my affliction then might I suggest you aim a tad lower?”

_“Kol!”_

She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. Yep, he was definitely a couple degrees warmer.

“Many apologies, goddess. However, you did extend the offer,” he said as his grin took a wicked turn.

She dismissed his freak nasty nature with a coma inspired eye roll. “Aside from your achy meat balls are you feeling okay? You feel a little warm.”

“You’re mistaken, little love. The temperature of my person always matches that of my environment,” he said, recapturing her hand. “The warmth you imagine radiating from my skin is nothing more than the automobile’s elaborate heating system.”

“Hmm, maybe,” she muttered to herself, yet still not as convinced as Kol. The inside of the vehicle may be a toasty seventy-eight degrees according to the console but he felt a little warmer than the car’s temperature. Maybe his climb in body heat had something to do with the awakening of his powers. “Aside from ripping through protection barriers and unraveling silencing spells, have you been able to do anything else with your magic?”

“We’ve discussed this matter already, my darling. I have no magic. The feats to which you refer were solely motivated by desperation.” A sigh raised and dropped his shoulders. His eyes rolled.

Her neck snapped back as she eyeballed the hell out his profile. Did he just roll his damn eyes? She inhaled a shit ton of oxygen to distract her mouth, gather patience, and dull her tongue. “Babe, I’m aware we’ve had this discussion time and time again, and I know the repeat in topics is working your nerves, but whether you want to acknowledge the facts or not, your magic is growing.”

“Noted, Little Love,” he responded in a clipped tone before flashing her a smile that contradicted the sadness which glinted his eyes. “Have I mentioned how breath taking you are too me?”

When his gaze swung back to the road she covered his hand with hers. “No, not in the last ten minutes. Guess you are kind of slipping.”

She allowed him to change the subject because she sensed the dip in his emotions. It was the same mood shift he always experienced whenever she attempted to discuss the return of his powers. Although his ability to throw up brick walls whenever she dropped a phrase about his magic annoyed the hell out of her, she somewhat understood his feelings on the topic. Hope could be lethal when presented to the hopeless and she detected Kol had existed without the light of a silver lining since transition.

“Tell me about the dark witches of Hattiesburg,” she said, angling herself in her seat to visually trace the flawless cut of his jaw line.

The corner of his mouth quirked. “Ah, Nigrum Sanguinem Covina.”

Her brows puckered as she attempted to translate the Latin phrase. When the locution grazed the walls of her mind in English her eyes flared. “The Black Blood Coven?” she laughed, “exactly how far back does that name go? Please tell me there’s a purpose behind the trying too hard factor.”

“The Coven’s name came into existence three hundred years ago.” He chanced another glance her way. “However, the coven itself predates nature and spirit magic by millennia. Are you familiar with the magical blood wars?”

Bonnie silently considered the speed of his mind with a measured stare. “I’m a Bennett, Kol. Of course I am. Abby used to tell me bedtime stories about Qetsiyah. Granted, I didn’t know she was my ancestor at the time.”

“The Black Blood Coven once functioned within a larger magical syndicate. This syndicate waged war against Qetsiyah in attempts to preserve black magic, and the old religion. When failure became imminent a majority of the collective opted to secret themselves away to bide their time while a smaller faction of the consortium chose to exist in the shadows of light magic.” He paused to consider her expression. After a moment of studying her he continued. “Over the centuries this faction has possessed a number of names. Their belief however has never wavered. Their rather fanatical in that way.”

“Fanatical?” She chewed her bottom lip as she clung to every word that bounced from his.

He brought their clasped hands to his mouth and kissed the back of hers. “In the early fifteenth century this faction sought me out in Paris. They implored me to turn them.”

“What?!” She straightened in her seat. “All of them?”

“Every twisted one,” he said, while bowing his head in a nod. “Each of them wanted to secure their survival to witness the fulfillment of the foretelling.”

“Which foretelling?”

“The Black Blood Coven functions under the assumption a day of reckoning will soon be upon their enemies.” He reached over and tucked a few scraggly waves behind her ear. “It’s been inferred that black sorcery will once again reign over all forms of magic. According to the divination of the ancient religion’s high priestess, the martyred, defeated, and faithful will be celebrated heirs of this once and future supernatural order.”

She lifted a skeptical brow as she folded her arms underneath her breasts. “How the hell? Every sorceress who’s ever floated a feather knows becoming the undead takes away a witch’s right to be counted among their magical peers,” she said even as the question of Abby preyed on her doubts.

“That’s what the Bennett spirits would have the supernatural community believe.” He laughed and bitterness soured the sweet melody of the sound.

Her brows scrunched together. “It’s a proven belief that-…” She squeezed her eyes shut. After counting to five she retrained her gaze on his profile. “Look, we’re off topic and what’s done is history. So how about we bring the conversation back to subject at hand?”

His gaze flicked to her, and then back to the road. “I’m amenable.”

“Okay, then answer me this.” She donned her poker face. “Did you turn the Black Blood Coven into a nest of vampires?”

A sigh oozed from his distracting mouth. “Yes,” he said stealing quick glances of her from the cut of his eye. “I fed them my blood, and then slaughtered them all.”

“Unholy hell!” Her eyes did somersaults in their sockets. “Are you saying we’re dealing with a coven of magical vampires, _Kol_?”

“Of course not,” he snapped, indignation present and accounted for in his tone. “Well, at least not in the way you believe.”

The hell! “Explain, _babe_ ,” she forced through the clench of her teeth.

“Are they vampires…yes, but their only access to magic are through cursed objects and inductees who have yet to earn the privilege of transition,” he said as his face remained the perfect mask of unmoving muscles.

“Why, Kol?” Something dark shifted inside of her. “Why involve yourself in something this damn crazy?”

Why the hell would she ask such a crazy ass question? He’s Kol Mikaelson! According to everyone who knew him best, crazy was his resting state. So the better question would be, why the hell would he not?

His troubled stare remained focused on the interstate. “We’ll arrive soon. You should attempt to rest. There’ll not be another opportunity once we reach our destination.”

With that said he raised the volume on the car stereo. Rihanna proceeded to wail about loving the way her lover lied. Humph, of course she did. Who wouldn’t love a pretty lie after being bitch slapped by the truth a time or three?

                                                              

* * *

 

Esther cast her gaze upon her unconscious body. A pleased smile touched her lips...or Rebekah lips if she chose to be accurately specific. Gaining access to her daughter’s form proved to be easier than she’d assumed. Clever chit though she may be, Rebekah still craved love in all forms. It was her most glaring weakness, really.

“Well, well, if it isn’t our dear mother. Those rodent traps Tyler placed about the mansion are quite brilliant little contraptions, are they not?” Esther’s eyes bulged from their sockets at the sound of her bastard son’s voice.

She turned to regard him in the open entryway of the parlor. “Niklaus! All of this can be clarified.”

He raised a hindering hand. “Hoard your words, Rebekah,” he said. Strolling further into the room, he graced her with a smirk exclusively utilized by the dastardly and depraved. “I’m more than capable of deducing the old girl’s debased last moments without your assistance or flawed input.”

“Oh?” Arrogance hoisted her brow. “Are you now?”

His mocking brows saluted her. Once he towered above her incapacitated form the mock in his eyebrows oozed south to infect his rodent like gaze. “Your doubt is sharper than your assigned dagger, baby sister. Why I fear it wounds me far beyond the ability of my superior regenerative capabilities.” His smirk soon fell victim to his taunting condescension as well. “Do you honestly believe I’m not well versed in the vileness which at present stains our floor?”

“Well out with it then, Niklaus.” She folded her arms under her bosom, and then considered him with an indulgent glare. “Enlighten me on your theories.”

He clasped his hands behind his back as he regarded her with a slanted gaze. “Bekah, theories are nothing more than analysis of supposed facts…conjectures, really.” A tsking reprimand cavorted from the split of his lips. “Just have a look at the defeated ogress. The unjust war she waged against the majestic fruits of her loins have finally given birth to her demise.”

“Really?” She seethed.

Stooping down, he brushed a golden lock from the face of her dormant form. “Absolutely, sister. It’s also unmistakable that in the end she became privy to the error of her wicked ways. Why, she may have very well squandered her final twinkling of life to crawl back to her beloved offspring on those calloused hands and hardened knees. She undoubtedly wished to beg our forgiveness to only in her final hour be denied her last request by Death himself.”

“And would you have,” her pupils constricted as she scrutinized the back of his head, “forgiven her, then?”

“Without deliberation.” He stood, and then hexed her with a tainted smile. “After liberating her soul from the confines of her wretched body my forgiveness would’ve promptly been hers to have and to hold on the other side.”

“Well how positively generous of you, brother.” The ungrateful whelp! “It’s so uncharacteristic of you to applicate such benefit as doubt to our mother’s actions.”

“Yes well you’ll discover me quite magnanimous when the situation warrants,” he said. His patronizing azure gaze captured hers. “Now see to building a pyre.”

“A pyre, Niklaus?”

“Yes!” He nudged the unmoving body with the toe of his boot. “I plan to burn the iniquitous bitch, then flush her ashes down the crapper once and for all.”

The disrespectful abomination. Burn her indeed! “Burning mother’s remains will not sever her connection to the other side.” She stooped to lift her body from the hand knotted rug. It would seem enhanced strength did have its compensations. With care she placed her sacred person on the chaise. “However, if we were to bury her in unconsecrated ground her spirit would be forced to wander the in between with no contact to either side of the veil.”

“Hmm...Although I do fancy the notion of watching the deceitful cow burn, enduringly concluding her reign of thwarting my well-plotted schemes seems to appeal to me more. “Very well,” he waved his hand at her lifeless person, “Have it your way, baby sister.” She hid away a smirk with the press of Rebekah’s over painted lips. Gleefully, she moved to retrieve her body and he blockaded her path by stepping in front of her. “Before you see to the ancient battle-ax’s burial arrangements we must first see to the Salvatores. The stench of treachery is overpowering inside the walls of the boarding house.”

“And why should this be of concern? Surely, there common pursuit of the doppelgänger has bred treachery in the Salvatore household long before we arrived,” she said, while attempting to step around him.

He then regarded her as if she was the daftest of them all. “Are you so confident in your good will towards the Salvatore brothers you can continue to entrust those morons with the only weapon that can bring about our expiration?”

“They’re in possession of the White Oak stake?!” She clutched the crystal nestled between her breasts. The cool gem thrummed in the center of her palms.

Niklaus’ eyes narrowed as he violated the intimate space she reserved for her favored child. That is if possessed custody of one. “And you allowed them both to depart, leaving us with no leverage or recourse other than their word.” His grievances slithered from his lips in a serpent inspired hiss.

“Then you have a valid claim to your concerns,” she said as she inclined her head.

“How good of you to allow me the discontentment of my concerns, Rebekah.” Irritation incited his eyes to roll. “And not a moment too soon. The doppelganger and elder Salvatore are on an expedition to retrieve the Gilbert runt. That within itself forces me to speculate over the Salvatores motives.”

“Come then, Niklaus,” she said, while preparing to make haste towards the exit, “let’s not dally over dissecting the thought processes of the dim-witted. Such endeavors are foolish and I fear my patience for foolery dwindled to naught nine hundred and fifty years past.”

                                                              

* * *

 

“Brilliant.” Kol’s critiquing stare travelled over the model who shared a resemblance to his witch’s body type. “Now slowly turn, darling. What do you think of this one, Little Love?”

“I think you should’ve told me I’d needed a dress, Kol. I would’ve brought one.” She waved a dainty hand around the mediocre hotel suite he’d acquired for the duration of their visit in Hattiesburg. “You’re doing too much with all of this. I’m mean flying these women all the way here from New York…”

“It’s in our job description to travel for our premier customers, sweetie,” the seamstress assured as she nodded at her homely assistant. The plain face wench scurried forth to refill Bonnie’s champagne flute.

His eyes narrowed. The seamstress interference in him and his mate’s discussion was a bit too forward for his status and her station. “Be observed but never overheard, darling.” After he reprimanded the presuming chit his gaze ensnared his witch. “Honestly, Goddess. The only dress I’ve ever seen you don had the potential to incite a bloody massacre and you do appear to be rather put off whenever I attempt maim or slaughter. Moreover,” he leaned down to nuzzle the curve of her neck. “I’d prefer you saved your wantonness for me and our adventurous exploits in the boudoir.”

Her eyes rolled as she released the sweetest breath he’d ever inhaled. “Fine, Kol, but I’m paying for whatever dress I choose.”

“Truly, Little Love. That’s quite unnecess-,” he began.

She silenced him by pressing her lovely little palm to his mouth. “It’s the only way I’ll go along with this Pretty Woman reboot.” The set of her crooked jaw conveyed her unchallengeable position on the subject.

“Fine, Bonnie,” he forced through the slits of his teeth. “However, be prepared to procure two gowns. For I intend to escort you to the period formal being hosted at your place of learning.”

A slight furrow disturbed the skin between her brows. “The decade dance? How’d you even hear about that nonsense?”

“Bekah has been on about it ever since Elijah lifted the lid on my coffin,” he said before imprisoning her lobe between his teeth. “She means to recreate the ‘20’s era. And since I languished away in a box during those years, I find myself mildly fascinated with Rebekah’s brief reversal of time.”

“Those damn dances are bad luck. Matter of fact, the last decade dance I attended your deranged hybrid brother tried to snatch me off my feet. Permanently!” She slid her thumb across her charming little neck as tribute to the splendid art of throat slashing. “Besides, I wasn’t even planning on going this year.”

His chest tightened as disappointment attempted to have its way. He refused however, to allow the sodding emotion even a pittance of victory. “But now you must.”

“And why the hell is that?” She turned her head to level him with a sideways glare.

“To assist me in bridging the gap of time Nik embezzled from me over a century ago.” He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “How will the destination ever make a bit of sense to me if I’m never made privy to the details of the journey, Little Love?”

She stared at him for a few seconds before the mask of resolve she concealed herself behind shattered. “Fine, babe, but when shit decimates the fan and flies everywhere don’t even think about asking me to wipe you down.” She waved her hand at the rolling racks of dresses. “Unless these ladies travel with vintage couture, I’ll have to wait until we get back to Mystic Falls to find a period appropriate dress for the dance.”

“Collette, do me a kindness and present Miss Bennett with the other wares I instructed you to carry along,” he said as he placed the flute of champagne on the tea table.

After Collette brought forth the rack of decade worthy gowns Bonnie spent the next hour selecting two incomparable dresses that would no doubt make her the most looked upon beauty at each event. Her taste and sophistication—when properly guided—was like that of her magic. Unparalleled!

“Here’s the invoice for your purchases, Miss Bennett,” Collette’s unappealing assistant exclaimed while offering Bonnie a neatly folded piece of parchment.

His Little Love draped the garment bag, which held both her gowns, over the back of a wingchair before accepting the page. Upon unfolding the parchment her emerald jade toned irises nearly met the carpeted floor. “Nineteen hundred and seventy-five dollars?!” She screeched. “Damn it! I told you we should’ve went to Ross’, Kol!”

The timid sales assistant flinched.

Satisfaction quite smug in its intensity warmed him to his notable core. “Is there an issue you’d prefer I address, Goddess?”

“No…no issue,” she said, attempting to force calm into the heightened key of her impromptu falsetto. “I’m just a little surprised by the damn prices is all,” She continued muttering to herself as she moved to retrieve her billfold from her oversized carryall. Once in hand, she fished out a plastic card and gave it to Collette’s assistant.

“Excuse me while I’ll call the boutique to run this,” the wench bustled away to the other side of the suite with a mobile device clutched to her breasts.

Bonnie sauntered over and climbed in his lap. His arms automatically wound about her waist. “My dad is going to kill me, but it serves him right for blasting my life apart with a new husband and a baby.”

“Your father is a negligent plague-sore who’d do well to relinquish his purse strings to you without a single question or condition,” he murmured as he stroked the dip in her lower back.

His little love jerked her lovely form around to glare at him. The fires of hell burned unpromisingly bright in her turbulent verdant gaze. “What the hell did you just call my-,”

“I’m sorry, Miss Bennett. The charges credited to your account was declined and the bank also directed the boutique to confiscate your card.” Collette gave the bit of plastic back to Bonnie. “Do you have another card you’d like for me to charge?”

“Declined?” Bonnie questioned. “That’s impossible! My dad makes more money than an over paid Rockefeller. There’s enough money in that account to put twenty of me through college and grad school.”

Collette peered over her rose tinted spectacles as she regarded his mate with an expression riddled with doubt. “Really?”

His goddess’ jaw squared, before she raised her chin. “Run it again!” She demanded.

“They ran it three times,” the unlovely assistant insisted while swinging a tentative stare from his mate to him.

Bonnie sprung from his lap, card clutched firmly in hand. “Give me a minute.”

When she disappeared through the doors of the bedroom he shifted his stare back to Collette. “Add the charges to my family’s account.”

She inclined her head before placing a mobile phone to her ear and striding over to the balcony. He retrieved his flute from the tea table. Taking a sip of the shamefully burnt champagne, he contemplated his goddess’ father. Since becoming aquainted with the insignificant dullard his actions had been deplorable. From capturing his little love unawares with an unexpected family to leaving her destitute. The lengths the bobolyne would travel to establish himself unfit for the role of her father were without limits.  

“My dad cancelled my credit card,” his goddess shrieked upon exiting the bedroom. “He’s dead ass serious about cutting me off. What the hell am I gonna do now, Kol?”

                                                          

* * *

 

“Hey, D-sack? Either swing the bat or get out of the fucking cage,” an asshole bellowed from just outside of the gated enclosure.

Jeremy Gilbert ignored the slobbering drunk to tap the wooden bat against the heel of his shoe. He did so not to knock clay from his cleats but to look official. All the major leaguers did it or maybe just the one he’d seen on a game he’d watched with his dad. Either way the dude looked as cool as shit and sure he may have struck out but he still swaggered back to the dugout as if he’d knocked one out of the park. His magnificent failure only served to add credence to an age old question. Who the hell needed skill when you had a chest full of confidence? Not Jeremy Gilbert!

That’s why Jeremy had fought so hard to move to Denver. In a new city he could be the best version of himself. There, no one knew him as the punk space cadet who didn’t need NASA to get hella high, or the little shit who’d hounded Vicki Donovan until she swerved her inhibitions and spread it open for him—longest fucking summer of his life by the way.

They didn’t know how he’d tricked Ana into believing he loved her to get her blood. His new associates didn’t question his sanity about drinking said blood and nearly offing himself in the attempts of becoming a vampire. Nobody judged him for slipping his tongue between both sets of Ana’s lips. He didn’t get ridiculed for being a complete ass to his girlfriend who sacrificed her relationship with her magical ancestors in favor of raising him from the dead.

The most important point of all though was not a single person called him the poor bastard who’d lost his parents. In Denver he was Tyler Lockwood 2.0! A dick for sure, but a popular dick just the same.

Although, if he were to be straight with himself, he’d admit something still felt off. Well not really off, but misplaced. From time to time a slight needling at the base of his skull whispered for him to beware of the pretext of free will. Then the need to be in Denver swelled inside of him and buried those bullshit mutterings under a shit load of his newly found awesomeness. His obsession with the city also took his mind off of losing Ana all over again. That’s unless his guilt over hurting Bonnie didn’t shove the petite brunette vamp from the crevices of his brain first.

Fuck, he missed Bonnie! He missed the little breathy moans she made when she allowed him to fondle her breasts—over the bra of course. Sure she had that judgy moral thing on lock, but he knew better. Under all of those, _thou shall nots_ , lurked a five star—ass clapping—porn queen. Had he stacked the deck like a winner, all of her nasty witchiness would’ve drowned him by prom. How could he ever go back to thinking of her as his older sister’s best friend? Bonnie had come to mean so much more to him than just another one of Elena’s ditzy airheaded ass kissers. For a hot second she’d become his one. The one to see him, only one to snatch away his loneliness, and his one singular motivation.

Confusion suckered punch the taste for Bonnie from his mouth. What the fuck was wrong with him? _Why_ the _hell_ did he have Bonnie Bennett on the brain? Sure he cared about her, but not in the way he cared for Vickie or even Ana. His love for them added flavor and color to his bland gray life. He’d never loved Bonnie, Right?

A low dull roaring joined the niggling at the base of his skull. Flashes of unfocused memories sharpened to give birth to a collage dedicated to his ex and their short lived relationship. Memories such as, Bonnie’s endless nose bleeds. His fear of losing her because of her blind loyalty to his sister. Her unflinching courage which swayed dangerously close to suicidal. The way his chest ached when she gave him one of her off centered grins.

Jeremy could still feel the crippling pain of her lost when he found her supposed dead body in Damon’s trunk. And how he nearly skeeted up his boxers after the dickhead told him she still lived. He even remembered how guilt took him down fast and hard after he kissed Ana and licked her ovaries.

Love her?! He worshiped every single breath Bonnie Bennett breathed.

The niggling at the back of his head exploded and drenched the lobes of his brain in neglected recollections…

_“One of Klaus’ leg humpers almost killed you, Little G,” Damon said as he entered his room without invitation. “Now’s the time you pack light and get the hell out dodge.”_

_“Get the fuck out of my room d-bag. I’m not going anywhere. Elena needs me and I have to make things right with Bonnie.” He stared down at his sketch pad to lock eyes with his ex’s steady gaze._

_“That ship pulled anchor weeks ago. Bennett’s done babysitting you, Baby Gilbert. Go find someone else to change your shitty diapers. You can start your search on the other side of the country.” The douche picked up his first edition Captain America comic book. He removed it from the protection of its plastic cover and began to flip through the mint condition pages. “I’ve even compelled a nice boring family to open their doors to you in Denver. The only thing you have to do is get there.” Damon dropped the graphic novel back on the desk without returning it to its cover. Jeez, it’s the origin story for fucks sake!_

_“Screw you and Denver Damon! I thought vampires had super human hearing, because I’m sure I’ve already told you that I’m not going any damn where!” He tossed the sketch pad on the bed. “So get the fuck out of my-,”_

_Faster than the Flash, the poster vamp for Massengill hurtled across the room, snatched his vervain bracelet from his wrist, and then grabbed the sides of his face. The dip shit stared him directly in the eyes with dilated pupils. Oh for the love of bare back threesomes, not again!_

_“You will leave Mystic Falls behind for a safer life in Denver. You’ll be excited to go and leave with no regrets. Because let’s face it, there’s nothing left here for you to regret. Fact is, I’d have a better chance of tasting Bon-Bon’s witchy surprise at this quarter in the game than you.” Damon lightly slapped him on the cheek. “Besides, you never loved the witch. Not really. Right? So go on to that boring new city and instead of being the little emo punk everyone’s tired of feeling sorry for, try being a Tyler Lockwood sized douche. Because everyone knows there’s not a chick on this planet who can resist a d-bag. Especially if he remembers to strike first, strike hard, and show no mercy! Oh and this is important…always sweep the leg. Now go forth and be the cobra.”_

“We need your help, Jer.”

Elena’s voice pulled him from the brink of a compulsion recall in time for his glare to collide with a bored electric blue stare. Rage snatched him cross-eyed and twisted his tongue. This time he would fucking stake Damon for dicking around in his head. Even if it was the last douchey act he ever committed. No fucking Mercy!

 

 

 

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

“I thought you said the coven fronted as a brothel?” Bonnie whispered as they ascended the steps of an old southern Baptist church.

She lifted the sheer silk of her exotic plant print dress to avoid getting the hem caught under gold heeled stiletto. The slit of the garment parted to reveal more thigh than even the colonel of KFC had grown accustomed to seeing.

Kol lifted a shoulder and immediately allowed it to fall. “Hmm, I suppose they heeded my advisement,” he uttered as his black on black Dolce & Gabbana dinner suit kissed all of that damn body in all of the right places.

His palm applied a slight amount of pressure to the base of her spine as he urged her through the doors of the church. Inside, several people who sat on wooden pews singing along with a gospel choir turned when they entered. Several chins of the church members smacked the pews in front of them as the others openly gawked. Kol preened, while Bonnie attempted to ignore the stares of contempt. Who could blame them for their looks of open disapproval, though? They were dressed to the nines in, _Hell Sheik_ , couture. In fact, she was stunned they hadn’t burst into flames upon crossing over the threshold.

After a few more moments of ridicule, the church goers resumed singing. The song they sang was unfamiliar but she couldn’t help finding herself bobbing her head a little to the rhythm. She moved to take a seat in one of the half vacant pews. Kol, however, gently continued to guide her forward towards the front of the church. Once they reached the altar he gestured for her to kneel with him. No sooner than their knees met the cushioned base of the altar, the preacher sitting in the pulpit rose and drifted over to tower above them.

“Jesus wept,” Kol murmured next to her.

The preacher cleared his throat, his hazel eyes narrowing when they fell on her. “And what was the cost of his tears,” he questioned. His southern drawl deep, enthralling, and backwoods bred.

Kol withdrew a silver coin from the front pocket of his slacks. The coin was the size of a half dollar. One side of the silver piece held the picture of a pentagram and the other side had a ritualistic symbol etched into the back.

“Follow me,” The preacher instructed.

They rose and did as directed, both trailing the middle aged man to a door just to the left of the pulpit. Soon as they crossed over the threshold they began to descend a flight of stairs that led down to a basement. Shelves of preserves bordered and filled every available space of the room.

Without pausing, the preacher escorted them to a shelf nestled under the stairs against a wall. He reached out and plucked a jar of prunes from one of the wooden sills. The layer of ledges slid to the side to reveal a cement gray wall. Placing his hands at what appeared to be random places on its surface the partition creaked, before sliding upwards.

Once again they began walking down another flight of stairs. At the bottom a door covered in keyholes loomed before them. The preacher turned to Kol and lifted a brow. Her Original pressed a kiss to her temple, and then stepped next to the minister. He produced a key from the jacket pocket of his suit. After, he slipped the antique metal into one of the numerous locks covering the door.

When his key protruded from one of the keyholes, the preacher withdrew a matching key from his robes, and then slid the metal into a lock closer to the top of the door. With a nod from Kol, they both turned each of their keys at the same time. The thick metal door swung open.

Before walking through the door Kol held his hand out to her. When she interlaced her fingers with his, he tugged her to his side and they crossed into the unknown together. Once more they descended another damn flight of stairs. Music, laughter, and seductive dark magic began to waft towards her in waves. Tugging her forth into the very depth of decadence. They encountered yet another f-ing door which opened by an unseen hand this time.

Inside, a gold spiral staircase led down to a spacious night club equipped with a vast dance floor, full service bar, and an elevated VIP section guarded by two slender identical twin girls wrapped from head to toe in black. Each girl sported matching lavender auras with yards of scarlet red threaded through the wafting sea of pale purple.

Yung Money and Lloyd showed the hell as they performed, _Bed Rock_ on a stage that could’ve easily hosted the MTV VMAs. And as impressive as the underground network was, the overpowering wall of dark sorcery which repeatedly slammed against her held her focus.

In stick and move antics, the dark magic continued to take shots. Almost as if the sensual dark force had a mind to test her powers. Never one to miss an opportunity to show the hell out, the magic inside of her tore from her pores and expelled a wave of deviltry so potent a gold mushroom cloud threaded in turquoise engulf she and Kol, while signaling them as ground zero for a hellified magical explosion.

The preacher who stood next to them blew backwards into the pitched corridor from where they’d only just emerged. Several clubbers closest to the bottom of the staircase, also found themselves tossed on their backs.

“Well, damn,” Bonnie muttered, while squeezing Kol’s hand. “And I call you extra.”

“Fret not. Extra is always more acceptable than lacking, goddess,” he tucked a wavy tendril back into the twist of a Genie inspired pony tail, “you’ll soon discover, many are rather fond of well-fashioned entrances. Especially, if you’re the discontentment bursting through the doors.”

                                                          

* * *

 

His little love’s jaw dropping display of magic never ceased to inspire a profound wealth of adoration. Monotony, a former mistress of his, would never again lead his barely beating heart astray. Through his goddess, anticipation, passion, and contentment had committed to him for a duration longer than that of a fleetingly indiscriminate encounter. He lowered his head with the sole intent of plundering her mouth only to be interrupted by an adolescent vampire who’d transitioned quite late in his human life.

“She can’t be here. Her light magic is an offense to-,”

Before his sentence drifted to a conclusion Kol had plucked the bugger’s heart from his chest. When the younger vampire crumpled at his feet, he tossed the organ down the spiraled staircase. His little love inhaled more than her share of oxygen next to him. Ballocks! He would’ve preferred she not witness the more vicious aspect of his nature. His affection for gore and disembowelment had the sodding potential of propelling his goddess beyond his covetous reach.

“Forgive me-,” He began.

“Here,” she hissed shoving a scrap of cloth at him from her clutch purse. “You’ve just assassinated a coven member in front of fifty-eleven fanatics. Your bloody red hand is over kill, babe.”

“Hear me and hear me well, free loaders. If any one of you attempts to raise a hand or word against my mate know that your end will not be as swift as his,” he said as he took possession of the offered strip of linen.

He proceeded to clean his hands as they descended the steps. Rolfe, a witch he’d changed at the turn of the nineteenth century, navigated through the throng of maladroit vampires and lackluster humans to kneel before him.

“Dominus,” he murmured, his reverence unfaltering, “Had I known of your rising we would’ve butchered the aspiring and the hopeful until their lifeblood drenched the streets crimson red, all in your honor.”

“The hell?” His little love’s magic flared once more.

Rolfe’s true vampire nature flickered through the mask of his humanity as his perceptive gaze strayed from the floor to scrutinize Bonnie. “Pandering was never a strength you possessed within your skill set, Rolfe. No matter how gifted you believed yourself to be when perched upon your knees. Now rise and speak to me of why my mate was nearly accosted by a vampire who bore the mark of _my_ coven.”

“ _Your_ coven?” Bonnie blustered as she slightly pulled away to drill heated glares into his utterly remarkable face.

“Little Love, Please.” He tugged her fully back into the unquestioning security of his arms. “All will be explained. My word is eternally yours.” His scrutiny then returned to Rolfe.

Rolfe reunited the soles of his shoes with the floor as he stood. “Forgive me, Dominus. Aldridge may have been a talented witch before he transitioned a hand full of decades ago, but he never recognized or respected the hierarchy within this coven. His complacency will forever be remembered as his undoing.” Rolfe tore his dilated pupils from Bonnie to attend him.

“He will not be remembered at all. His name is to be stricken from the commemorative ledgers,” he decreed as he flung the soiled handkerchief to his, oil based tongue, progeny. Several gasps and more than a few outraged intakes of air clashed with his matchless auditory senses. “Goddess, did you approve of the clamor unfolding on the rising, there?”

Approving orbs of green swung to the nonsensically attired spoken word artists on the stage. “That song was everything, Kol.” Her tone had adopted an edge that was undoubtedly capable of drawing blood with just a flick of her clever sharpened tongue.

“You lot may resume,” he said, waving a dismissive hand at the elevated rising. After the musicians—and he utilized the term rather carelessly almost to the point of inaccuracy—began anew mutilating a brilliant instrumental with their rather unfortunate lyrics his unflinching glare rediscovered Rolfe. “Take me to Lou. It’s imperative we speak.”

“Of course, Dominus.” He inclined his head as his beady stare once again wandered to his witch.

No longer willing to allow such a blatant affront to go unchecked, he leveled his progeny with an emotionless regard he thinly veiled with a devil may care smirk. “My mate is lovely is she not?”

“I-I wouldn’t dare to be-…she’s, rather…um, tidy-,” he stammered.

“Tidy indeed.” Kol scoffed. “Is her tidiness the motive of why you’re unable to remove your regard from her delectable person?” He clasped his hands behind his back, while considering the younger vampire with a slight tilt of the head.

Bonnie placed a delicate hand on his arm. “Babe, I didn’t bring my ruler so as much as I’d love to see you whip it out to show this pervert who the goddess bestowed more upon, all of this is for nothing.” Her arms slipped around his waist, before she plastered herself impossibly closer to his side. “Besides, I don’t need a ruler to know you’re nature’s gift to sexuality. So now can we please get back to the actual reason we’re here?”

“Fine, little love.” Well, what a tempting little tormenter she’d proved to be! Using her enticing wiles to distract him for another thrilling round of bloodletting. Very well. She’d already allowed him one misstep he’d be a damn fool to endeavor for two. “I’ll deliberate no further on whether I permit the bugger to retain the use of his eyes or not. You may proceed with escorting my goddess and me to Lou, Rolfe.”

Rolfe inclined his head once before dashing ahead to lead them in the direction of the imperium room. The mass of cold and warm bodies parted to provide an unobstructed path to a set of doors with no handles. Guarded by a pair of rambunctious twins he’d knocked about with in the early 1900’s before Niklaus had the opportunity to slay his amusement with the sharp end of an enchanted dagger.

“Dominus,” they both swept low in identical baroque bows.

An instigating smirk toyed with the corner of his mouth as he ran an appreciative glance over both of their voluptuous forms. “Jemma,” his gaze slid from one identical face to the other, “Nie. I’m extremely delighted to discover you two still among-,” a vessel ruptured in his brain, he swung a look of contrition to his little love only to find her glowering at him with an arched brow and arms firmly folded under her alluring bosom. “Allow me to present my mate Bonnie Bennett-,”

“A Bennett Witch,” they both hissed in unison. “Here in our black den of iniquity? You dare?”

In an unquantifiable moment he had them both pinned to the handle impaired metal doors by their rather charming throats. “Darlings, you may have failed to hear me mention Bonnie is my mate. So just this once I’ll allow your slip in judgement as nothing more than an isolated blunder which shall never be repeated again in regards to my eternal lover and most cherished companion. In fact from this period forth, you’ll both demonstrate to her the same level of obedience you have shown me in centuries gone by. I trust I’ve expressed myself in distinct terms that even the two of you can comprehend?” He released them when each inclined their heads in assent.

“Step aside, Jemma-Nie and inform Mistress Louretta, Dominus requests her presence in the imperium domain,” Rolfe said.

He then effectively moved them away from the doors with a swatting wave of the arm. After settling the twins with a look of utter disdain he placed his hand on a black screen which glowed blue under the weight of his palm. Seconds hence a green acceptance flashed across the screen and the doors slid apart to allow them entrance.

Rolfe moved away from them to proceed him into the room. The issue, however, which confounded him was the room. A tiny metal box that could only be utilized for imprisonment. _The treachery!_

The very notion tore a snarl from the deepest depths of his chest. “Is it your intent to imprison _me_?!”

“Never, Dominus! Why this is merely a lift. It leads to your imperium room,” Rolfe blustered.

His little love’s soft palm captured his. “He’s right, Kol. It’s just an elevator, babe.” She stepped inside the small enclosure tugging him along with her. “And if Ralph grows even a brain cell and attempts to prove me wrong then his ass will be crispier than an over fried piece of chicken by the time the doors reopen.”

“It’s Rolfe,” the younger vampire sniffed.

“It’ll be barbecue if you decide to test me, _Ralph_ ,” she said without sparing him even a passing glance.

She instead attended Kol by placing a calming palm to his cheek as she whispered innocent promises to him that singed his immortal sensibilities. Promises, he fully intended to make sure she fulfilled.

When the doors slid open, the familiar scent of lust and potent dark magic welcomed him to the inner circle of his imperium domain. An exquisite symphony of moans, wails, and whimpers seduced his auditory senses. He slid an arm around his mate when she attempted to spin on her heel to reenter the metal lift with Rolf.

With an insistent palm placed to the small of Bonnie’s back, he guided her onwards to the thrones on the elevated platform. Writhing bodies in the throes of chi sharing, bloodletting, and an orgy of sexual promiscuities lined the path to his seat of power.

A stunned gasp leaped from his little love’s captivating mouth. “The hell…” she uttered as her wide disbelieving stare darted all about the room. “Are they…” With a trembling hand, she pointed at a witch contorted in an impossible position on the brink of her conclusion, while being repetitively impaled upon a male vampire.

In response to his goddess’ unfinished inquiry, he blessed her with a smirk conceived of sin and wickedness. The rate of her heart increased as she forced her gaze away from the couple and most unfortunately him. Even when he couldn’t tear his shadowing stare from her. His eyes stalked every step of her tempting form as she ascended the steps of the dais. Her movements were stiff and barely compromised with her joints in the act of bending.

One would’ve assumed ice resided within the hearth nestled between her glorious thighs instead of the welcoming warmth of a lusty blaze. Yet, he refused to be deceived by such trivial things as appearances. For he knew well of the untapped passion shoving at the walls of her ever weakening restraint.

It amused him how his wild rose strived so to be considered, well…prim. Even as her yearnings snatched air in and out of her lungs. Even as her bosom swell and fell in rapid successions from the confines of the scandalously nonexistent neckline of her sheer emerald jewel toned gown. Even then, she still seated herself with all the regality and morality of a virgin queen in the minor yet grander throne next to his own. No matter the mouth dampening scent of her arousal—laced with a hint of shame—which blanketed the air around them.

He released a sigh which threatened to linger on throughout the ages. Oh, how he longed for the moment he finally relieved his mate of all her doubts and insecurities regarding her sexuality. That’s the moment all of her would belong only to him just as everything he was had become hers to possess without question.

“Witches and vampires,” his little love muttered as she glared at male vampire feasting on the hind quarters of a male witch. “And here I thought we were special.” She incited him with a sideways glance. Would her loveliness ever cease to capture his notice? “Why’re we here, Kol? None of these heathens seem to care whether its morning, noon, are night. You think they’re going to tear themselves away from the rebuilding of Babylon part two, to discuss what happened over a couple of thousand years ago? During a magical blood war they were never even around for in the first place?”

“Of course they will. They’re all committed to the resurrection of the black arts and ancient religion. But, even the faithful falls victim to boredom from time to time and are forced to seek out distractions in the most debauched of places.” Lou’s low sensual tone drifted to them from a multitude of writhing bodies to the left of them. “It’s a lesson my maker taught me well. By the by, you’re in my seat, sweets.”

Bonnie’s magic flared and Kol took hold of her hand, giving the delicate appendage a reassuring squeeze before returning his consideration to the acting coven leader. A loose smirk had its sinful way with his mouth as he watched his prized progeny. He was utterly unmoved by her entrance.

Lou had observed them for several minutes before she decided to make her presence known. He’d sensed the moment of her arrival, but he’d resolved to permit her the pretenses in which she’d always adorned herself.

“Oh, come now, Poppet,” he said, chastising her with an empty narrowed eyed stare. “We’ve had this discussion many times before. You were never meant to lead indefinitely at my side. All truths being professed, you were nothing more than a seat warmer. The seat belongs to my goddess. It always has and forever more it shall be so.”

“I wasn’t talking to her, Dominus,” she hissed, while staring down the bridge of her nose at him.

His little love shifted in her seat as he attended Lou for but a moment before his laughter quaked him to the bleeding core. “Now you’re just being silly, poppet.”

The swirl of fury receded from Lou’s expression as her own chortles began to mingle with his. She stooped to perch on the step beside his feet. While Bonnie cast careful glances between the two of them, which questioned the soundness of their sanity and the basis of their relationship.

“It’s been an age since you left for New Orleans. You have no idea how much you’ve been missed.” She placed a hand on his knee. “Please tell me you found what you were looking for. The cursed object needed to put down your original dilemma once and for all?”

With a mild brush of the hand, he removed Lou’s hold from his knee. “For a flash in time I did possess the components necessary to put down Niklaus. However, before I had the opportunity to forge the weapon I required to assist me in the endeavor he daggered me and allowed me to languish as such for a century.”

“So you’ve come to collect your coven to help you prepare an ice cold platter of revenge. Jemma-Nie says you’ve even managed to dig up a Bennett witch.” Her calculating scrutiny crept to his goddess even as unease crept down his spine.

“The Bennett Witch’s name is Bonnie and I have ways of making sure remember it, _poppet_ ,” his little love’s said. Her tone was riddled with jagged sharp edges. Her eyes flickering between green and gold. She was magnificent and enigmatically his!

“I’m sure you do, tiny one,” she retorted, her eyes brimmed with mock and a hint of lust.

Kol created of temple beneath his chin with his fingers as he considered his progeny through narrowed lids. Lou would do well to remember herself. Bonnie was his mate! Not the means for the resurrection of black magic, and the restoration of the ancient religion. He’d eradicate the entire sodding coven if they failed to comprehend the concept of that certainty.

“And I’m sure they also mentioned Bonnie is my mate.”

“There’s something different with you.” She ran a hand along the length of his arm, while avoiding physical contact. “An energy pulses all around you. Why,” her hand froze and hovered next to his face, “it’s almost…mag-,”

“We’ve come for information. My mate’s mother has transitioned,” he began.

“What?” A well-groomed ebony brow rose as her hand dropped to her side. “A Bennett has become the very thing she loathes? Ha, the hypocrisy of it all!”

Bonnie stiffened. “Yet,” he sharpened is tone as he gave her hand another squeeze. “She’s still managed to retain her magic and overcome other impediments which affects even Original vampires.”

“Which impediments?” Her tone misplaced its petulance and employed an assiduous inflection.

“All of them, but bloodlust,” his goddess answered. Her shrewd glare devoured every detail of Lou’s countenance. “But even that’s off. She only tolerates Originals’ blood.”

His little love’s response forced Lou’s topaz orbs from their sockets. “Come again!”

“She speaks the truth. The uniqueness of the former witch’s situation abandons us to an insolvable unknown.” He spared his goddess a glance, before lifting their clasped hands to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of hers. “Our only other recourse at this venture are the scrolls from the ancient religion for the black arts.”

“How did she die?” Her gaze swept away from Bonnie’s to regard the irreverence of the imperium room.

“Her magic became infected with darkness after she performed a dark spell which involved stopping a human heart.” She paused a moment to swallow, before she resumed her tale. “For years she fought against the darkness until it finally consumed her.”

“The prodigal descendent of the betrayer will expire and be reborn again by the judgment of black sorcery. The foretelling,” Lou murmured. Her wide stare returned to ensnare him as a smile blossomed upon her lips. “It’s begun, Maker.” She stood and snapped her fingers twice. A comely witch in a black leather thigh length gown and torn hosiery zipped through the gathering to stand before Lou. “Bring the Dominus a bottle of the chi releasing elixir. The 1905 bottle from my private stock.” The witch nodded before zipping away.

When Lou moved to descend the steps he captured her wrist. “Explain.”

“I will, Maker.” She placed a hand over his. “First I must review the scrolls. Give me a few hours to do so and as soon as I know more so will you.” A sigh slipped from her lips at the continuance of his hold. “You have my word.”

“Let her go, babe,” Bonnie uttered next to him. She covered their clasped hands with her free one.

At his little love’s behest he released his hold on Lou. Before zipping away she inclined her head as a thousand promises danced within the depths of her eyes. He observed her exit wanting nothing more than to trust her. However, an existence of nothing other than deceptions and betrayals had barred such notions from his capability.

In verity, his mental grasp matched that of a dullard’s when tasked with trusting in those closest to him—Bonnie being the exception of course. Yet, despite his shortcomings there he wasted away. Forced to place his faith in someone other than himself or his mate. Lou had better damn well be worthy of such faith. For he had no misgivings unmaking what he, himself had once made.

                                                              

* * *

 

“The call you’ve placed cannot be completed at this time. You will now be transferred to Verizon for further inquiries,” The automated greeting informed Bonnie after she attempted to phone Abby. “Son of a bit-…you know, my dad is so damn petty. Not only has he frozen my credit card account, but he’s also had my phone disconnected. How the hell am I gonna keep in touch with Abby? What if the Bennett spirits come for her and there’s no one around willing to help?”

“Little love, there’s no need to misplace your ease. I’m certain your mother is well, but even if her state of affairs do become precarious Abby’s more than capable of looking after herself.” Kol said as he plucked the phone from her fingers and replaced it with a tumbler.

A light pink fluid filled the glass to the brim. The fuchsia flecks which sparkled from within the contents of the liquid, provoked her to look at him as if he’d forgot his mind.

“Kol, what the hell is this?” She questioned, while holding up the glass to the dim track lighting which lit the area.

“A chi releasing elixir. It’ll assist you in relaxing.” When she continued to watch him the smooth skin between his brows wrinkled as he tsked. “Am I to be deprived of your trust without cause, Little Love? Why, I haven’t even uttered a single falsehood-,”

Despite her growing agitation, she chuckled a bit as she pressed a finger to his lips. “Fine, if I promise to drink will you promise not to unpack all the extra you insist on bringing with you?”

He kissed the pad of her index finger, and then folded his mouth into a closed lip smile before saying, “You have my word I’ll keep my issues well in hand until further notice.”

She rolled her eyes as she placed the glass to her mouth. Damn it, if his original ass couldn’t talk Lucifer into buying a blazing lake of fire. The fact he had her wide open in the middle of a supernatural orgy wearing a money green dress that sported a slit that stopped just short of Bob Marley’s hot spot gave testimony to his undeniable abilities of persuasion. Damn, when did her common sense curve her? Probably the exact moment Kol Mikaelson slammed into her and she’d decided not to walk away from the scene of the fall out.

Without taking her eyes off of him she downed the glittering hot pink liquid. When she’d swallowed every last drop including the fumes, she yanked the tumbler away, “There! Happy now, because I don’t feel a-,”

Kol leaned into her with slightly puckered lips and inhaled. The bundle of sensations at the very center of her womanhood churned. Sliding against each other in the most excruciatingly gratifying way. Every ounce of pressure to the nerve endings just beneath the surface of her skin added unbearable stimulation to the ecstasy that would inevitably lay her to rest in pieces. Her back arched and the slit of her silk dress slid further apart to expose Bob’s lacey emerald prison. She, however, couldn’t bring herself to care about the shots she’d offered those who had nothing better to do than watch. No her attention had centered itself on the sneaky fingers which crept up her inner thigh.

Did he really think she’d let him touch—her thoughts scattered when his thumb slid up, and then down the crotch of her thongs. Bob crooned his slippery approval. Out of nowhere she found herself on the peak and she didn’t even remember the climb. He’d mentally incapacitated her with all of the underhanded finesse of a smooth criminal.

Her original had left her without a single defense against his heated attack. All she could do was look on—while blitzed out of her fucking skull—as her gilded life force slid between his suckable lips. His mouthwatering chocolate brown irises began to blaze gold.

Holy fucking Daenerys! She could practically taste his heady arousal. Tonight she planned to give his fine original ass the business. Interruptions be damned! Any and all distractions would just have to take a seat on the front row and hold its peace until he took her down at least twice…no thrice…thrice! Once Kol took her down three times, then shit could resume tossing itself at the proverbial fan.

Just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore of her senses being kindled, the north wall gave way to a panoramic view of the stage and stimulated her visual awareness. Nicki Minaj stood front and center as she began to wail the course to, _Right Thru Me_.

“Ohmygawd! This is my song, babe,” she squealed, while attempting to wiggle her way out of his lap, she’d at some point found her way into. “Please dance with me.”

He stopped inhaling her aura to collapse against the high back of his chair. His gold eyes were glazed, but still teemed with intelligence and alertness. “I’ve told you before…anything you won’t, Beyoncé…” deep furrows horizontally lined his forehead, “uh Beyo—Bonnie! I meant Bonnie, Little Love.”

She glared at him. Well maybe she’d exaggerated a little on the intelligent part, because he’d clearly lost his damn mind. Feeling a little more than just a way, she opened her mouth to verbally obliterate his ancient ass, but he blocked her hellified read, by zipping them to a space by the open wall. One of his arms then slithered around her waist, while the hand on his free arm clung to the chi releasing elixir. The arm wrapped around her, pulled her impossibly close to the brick wall surface she’d come to know as all that body and without her expressed approval her arms wound themselves about his neck in response. The Tuff serenaded Kol with a drenching wet melody. Mother of all, what the hell was this vampire doing to her?

“Drink, goddess,” he said as he brought the open bottle to her lips. “Your sorcery has infiltrated my defenses. Surrendering to your deviltry habitually and obsessively is now my only recourse. So please, have another sip to put me out of my bleeding misery.”

“No.” She pushed the bottle towards his mouth. “Now, it’s your turn. I’m dying to know what your magic tastes like.”

For the second time that day she provoked his eyes to roll by mentioning his powers. “The elixir won’t function on me. It only releases the chis that possess active magic.” He lowered the bottle to his side, and then glanced at the stage. “And I’ve been without my magic for over a millennium.”

An idea drilled itself into the cerebral cortex of her brain. The chi releasing elixir had the potential to prove her claims about his magic. If it worked like she knew it would, he’d have no other excuse left for not believing in his sorcery.

She took the elixir from him, and then held it to his lips. “You claim you’ll do anything for me…then prove it by doing this.”

He watched her as he exhaled air she had no idea he’d held. After a moment of deliberation he placed his mouth to the glass rim. She tilted the bottle and observed as his Adam’s apple bounced with each swallow he took. Once done he removed the decanter from his lips and cocked a brow as he forced smugness into his expression. Wasting no time, she placed her mouth by the crook of his neck. Her lips grazed the sensitive skin there and he shuddered.

“As I said,” he rasped. “I have no mag-,”

She sucked and his Caribbean sea colored aura rushed in to her mouth. The blow back from his potent magic knocked her dumb, while dropping him to his knees. Every orgasm slated to be used throughout the duration of her life exploded at the same damn time. There by being named legion for they were many! A prehistoric language she’d never spoken a day in her life spewed from her mouth like convicted sinners escaping from the bowels of hades through a busted gate.

Unholy hell! He tasted just like blue and green skittles. Had she known her original tasted so f-ing scrumptious she would’ve devoured his rainbow tasting ass the first time he told her his name was Leo-something! Overpowering quakes rocked her frame, when Kol stuck his head in the split of her dress to bury his face into the mound nestled at the tops of her thighs. The sloppy wet tongue kisses Bob began to receive brought her somewhat back to the mockery Lou had made of reality. Instead of watching the circus from the comforts of Kol’s throne, they’d inadvertently joined the fucking show.

Bonnie had to stop the damn madness! If she allowed him to give her face time in a room full of vampires and witches, then she would…she would…well, then she would’ve one upped Kim Kardashian and the last thing she wanted to do was keep up with the shitty Kardashians. So she stilled her back bone determined to snatch back her will power, but when she attempted to shove his mouth away from Bob Marley’s willing lips her entire body began to shake harder than a stripper trying to make it rain to cover the rent.

The hell! She’d only hit his potent ass once and already withdrawal symptoms were proving to be a vengeful bitch.

“Mistress, your pleasure center is over stimulated,” the witch who Lou had summoned earlier stepped into her narrowed line of vision. _Well no fucking shit Blair Witch!_ The leather clad witch held up a glass filled with what looked to be champagne. “Drink this, it’ll interrupt the cycle of chi sharing.”

Without a second thought questioning the first, she downed the amber liquid in the champagne flute. Her entire face puckered. She gagged as her stomach rebelled in several violent flip-flops. The fizzy alcohol tasted worse than the Necromancer tonic smelled.

Shoving Kol’s face from her crotch, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “What the hell was in that champagne?”

“You stupid faithless whore!” The witch took several steps back, while raising an accusing finger. “Death to the betrayer of the Bennett line.” A rush of Latin then spilled from her mouth. Kol attempted to stand, but he couldn’t seem to separate his knees from the floor. When the witch’s spell trickled to a stop a beguiling smile stained her lips. “There, the balance is now restored. Blessed be to all the true servants of nature.”

Her triumph however was short lived. Tendrils of smoky dark magic shot from Bonnie’s abdomen and slammed into her would be assassin. Seconds later the symbol of Abby’s magic emblazoned itself all over the girls slim frame, including the whites of her eyes. From that night forth Bonnie would never forget the witch’s screams as blood poured from every orifice of her body. The sounds of the witch’s cracking bones rivaled the hushed murmurs and stunned gasps which surrounded them.

Once the dark magic had pop, locked, and knotted the now dead girl’s slender frame into the shape of a pretzel, the dark deviltry seeped from the pores of its victim’s body. Slowly, the sorcery rose until every occupant in the room could see its swirling smoking darkness. When all eyes rested on the grayish black augury it morphed into the symbol of the primary line of the first born daughters of the Bennett lineage, before shooting forward to reenter her abdomen.

Several moments after, vampires and witches alike fell to their knees with bulging eyes trained on her all while uttering: _“The house of Morrigan!”_

_“Domus Morrigan!”_

_“Hail, the deliverer of black magic and the ancient religion!”_

_“Once again the rule of Morrigan is upon us!”_

_“Regulae Morrigan!”_

_“The dark queen will save us all from the unnaturalness of spirit magic!”_

_“Save us, regina tenebris!”_

_“Save us!”_

Her wide eyed gaze ricocheted over the masses until Kol crossed her line of vision. A thousand and one questions danced on the tip of her tongue, but only one managed to cross her lips. “The hell! Are they worshiping me?”

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Warning there’s lemony goodness all through this ish! Proceed at your own risk!* Alright my fellow Kennett shippers here’s what you’ve been waiting months to read. A Bennett Witch take down (And I mean that in the most pleasurable way possible)! So if you make it all the way through without being too cringed out to go on, drop me a review in the comment box and tell me what you think. As always, thank you so much for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. I swear Francesca downs y’all love like creativity fuel Viagra, because this chick has me up at all times of the night! Alright disclaimer, get in here and tell the show creators, writers, and network why they shouldn’t sue us…
> 
> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. And to add unfairness to poetic injustice, neither does the shows or the books. However, I still intend to pull the characters' strings and make them dance, all while having a ball upsetting canon plot lines!

“Oh my goddess! What has she done?” His Little Love paced about the hotel suit raking her nails over the part of the silk fabric which covered her abdomen. “Did she infect my magic with her darkness?” She spun to face him with wide insanity stricken eyes. Her brows suspended just beneath her widow peaked hairline. “We have to get this mess out of me before the darkness spreads.” Completely beside herself, she turned about in a circle. “How do we get it out of me, Kol?”

No longer able to observe the unraveling of his mate, he zipped over to her and collected her into his embrace. Her body remained ridged. Severe tension locked her curvaceous person. Tremors shook her tiny clenched hands as the mouthwatering fragrance of her fear scented the air. The rapid pounding of her heart forced blood to slide through her veins at a mind-numbing speed. Anticipation for the release of his fangs provoked his over sensitized gums to throb.

He closed his eyes and swallowed, determined to keep his monster caged in a dank debauched corner of his mind. “Goddess, I don’t believe your magic is infected with darkness. Abby more than likely placed a protection spell when she healed you the night before.”

“A protection spell!” Bonnie twirled in his arms to gawk at him. “What the hell kind of protection spell commits murder, Kol? Protection spells aren’t offensive in nature! Nooo,” she shook her head, “this is bad. This is sooo bad.”

“I’m not of the same mind as you, Little Love. Had Abby not placed such an aggressive protection spell you would’ve expired. Once more my shortsightedness has placed you in jeopardy.” He gave her a squeeze before relinquishing his hold on her and moving over to the floral wing chair next to the faux fire place to sit.

“Stop blaming yourself, babe. We wouldn’t even be here right now if I hadn’t begged you to help me find a way to help Abby through her anomaly of a transition,” she crossed the room and kneeled before him, placing a hand on his knee. “None of this is your fault.”

“Cease with your endeavors to ease my conscience, Bonnie. You’re too clever to truly believe the nonsense you speak.” He covered her hand with his as he lost himself in a disarming sea of emerald jade. “Do you not fathom my wild abandon and recklessness will one day be the death of you.”

“That’s not true!”

“Every word I utter is heavily diluted with incontestable truth.” He cradled her achingly beautiful face in his hands. “When you met me you encountered your end. Why not contact the Bennett spirits on the other side if you don’t believe me. They’ll have no grievances supporting my claims nor will my former mistresses from 19th century London. The ones I so mercilessly butchered and left ripped to hell all over the East End. For I tell you, my previous dalliances record is rather stellar.”

Without prior warning she cracked the flat of her hand across his cheek and she must’ve utilized her magic to strengthen the blow. For his head nearly spun 360 degrees on his shoulders even as a searing pain radiated down the side of his neck from the site of the strike. “You might as well miss me with all this bull you’re talking, because truth or lie, there’s nothing you can say to me that’ll ever make me let you go!”

He buried his face in his palms. “What the sodding hell is wrong with me? Even after everything that’s occurred this eve our vow upon your lips offers me relief and hope for a future to which I’m not rightly entitled. Bonnie, you should question my intentions in regards to yourself. For if I justly cared I’d have no qualms about liberating you from my fatal hold. But alas, I’m weak and my grasp upon you is an ever tightening one. My selfish nature will never permit me to let you go.” He mumbled into his hands unsure if she could understand half of what he confessed and even unsure still if he really wanted her to. “You, however, can open your hands and allow us to slip through your fingers.”

“Now who’s being the fucking coward,” she bellowed. Then more calmly, “look, when it comes to you and me, I have no questions, Kol.” He felt her fingers thread themselves through the short strands of his hair. “And as for me letting you go, that’s never going to happen so please just stop. Self-hate isn’t a good look for you at all.”

Self-hate? More like self-mutilation! Persuading her to let him go would most assuredly rip him into fragments of himself in the end. However, his concerns were for her not himself. Never himself! “If you refuse to let go then I deduce it falls to me to convince you.”

He allowed his genuine original vampire nature to replace his fictional human façade. Fangs tore through his gums as he felt the veins squirm just beneath the surface of his skin under his eyes. By the conclusion of the night she would view him as every last one of her nonsensical friends. A psychotic monster. And well she should. Her fear of him would undoubtedly one day save her life.

He inhaled deeply to strengthen and steady his resolve. _Do it now or watch her perish, you bloody idiot._ Niklaus’ whispered urging bounced off the walls of his mind.

When he snatched his head up to strike terror in her he nearly swallowed his tongue. She stood before him in nothing but an emerald lace thong—as she’d earlier referred to the breathtakingly scandalous undergarment. Along with strap up gold spiked heeled shoes. Her exceptionally rounded bare bosom sat high and proud, while her irresistible chocolate dipped nipples wantonly beckoned to him to sample their charms. His John Thomas swelled in his trousers and blotted away all thoughts of allowing his monster free reign. All in attempts to dissolve the bindings of a drunken vow.

They journeyed down a path which would lead them to an eternal pit of blazing flames. And a lot could be professed about said path to hell. Not to mention the many well-meaning intentions he’d exploited that evening to ultimately pave his and her way to the ever waiting gates of Hades.

“Are you certain,” Like a predator stalking prey he eased to the edge of his seat. His movements careful and deceptively non-threatening, “are you certain of offering yourself to me? For there is an unobstructed exit for you now. Yet, I fear once we consummate our vow you’ll no longer be able to seek your leave.” He nuzzled the skin next to her ear, and then whispered, “I won’t let you.” The last bit slithered from the clench of his teeth.

“Good, then maybe we can finally stop talking in damn circles.” She climbed in his lap and straddled his hips as her warm succulent mouth sought his.

Inquisitive hands slipped inside of his jacket. The brilliant little appendages ran unchecked over his chest, shoulders and arms until they finally managed to relieve him of his outer wear. Once she’d disposed of the hindering garment she made short work of his shirt by ripping the material open. Smooth buttons pelted the walls and glass patio door. He shrugged himself free of the torn fabric. His need to feel her velvet consistent skin slide over him thoroughly trounced. He wanted her so. His entire being vibrated with a craving which undermined even his unquenchable lust for blood and mayhem.

Palming the globes of her arse, he continued to plunder her mouth as he employed original speed to stand. Her legs wound themselves about his waist, while her ingenious fingers stroked the hair at the nape of his neck. As she ground her moistened center into the lower muscles of his abdomen, moans rushed from her lips and he swallowed each of them one after the other.

The sensual scent of her arousal thickened to breath defying proportions. The sweet attar clawed at his olfactory senses, pilfering his sanity. If he didn’t enter heaven’s gates soon the banked flames of his longing would ravage its confines and rise up to incinerate them both.

He zipped from the make shift open parlor to the master bedroom of the suite. Inside the room he reluctantly wrenched her luscious person from his. He discarded her on the bed and stepped back to feast his ravenous stare upon the glorious chef-d’oeuvre he’d come to identify as her body.

Golden bronzed skin stretched uninterrupted over mesmeric hills and spell binding dips. The appealing way her narrow waist flared into the curve of her hips urged his tongue to wickedly molest his bottom lip.

Nothing, however, enthralled him more than the ambrosial scented dewy dampness at the tops of her thighs. He could still taste her exotic wildness within his oral cavity bursting with sinless flavor. Oh, how he looked forward to corrupting the incorruptible.

“Position yourself on your hands and knees, while facing away from me,” he demanded in a tone a bit deeper than normal.

She watched him for a moment through lowered lids, before obeying. Once she positioned herself as requested he utilized original speed to rip the emerald scrap of lace from the tucked crevices of her enchanting undercarriage. Her soft intake of air collided with his elite auditory senses. A growl tangled itself in his vocal chords, forcing the snarl to vibrate from the depths of his throat. The way Bob’s plump lips glistened from the proof of her need almost introduced him to a blissfully ill-timed deathless ending.

Kol fell to his knees to worship the only true religion to which he’d ever completely bequeath his faith. He buried his forehead and nose in the cleft of his goddess’ arse, and then slid the tip of his tongue between her nether lips. While allowing the fleshy muscle to wrap around the clustered ball of nerves, he gripped both of her bum cheeks into his each of his hands and mercilessly spread them wide. Her intoxicating scent replaced oxygen in his lung’s affections. He wanted to breathe her in until her mind-altering fragrance seeped from every minute opening on his body.

Unable to continue resisting the slick beckoning of Bob, Kol discontinued swirling the firm bundle of sinewy tendons in slovenly wet kisses to lap at the slippery threshold of her superb abode. Her opening quivered upon his tongue. The moans he elicited from his Little Love could effortlessly be celebrated as his magnum opus. For she was a melodious symphony of delight.

An excited wail of an oncoming conclusion prompted him to replace his fingers with his tongue. He decreased the amount of friction and pressure he applied to the sopping slit. The mournful whimper she exhaled in response formed a quite compelling rebuttal, however he wanted her rationality just beyond her reach before he liberated her from her misery.

_Kol, please…_

Her words brushed the walls of his mind in a feather inspired caress even as the clawing throb of her unresolved lust crippled him to the point of disrepair. If not already kneeling the burden of her desire would’ve driven him to his knees. Astonishment rode him harder than he prayed she would. Her magic had not only once again allowed her to enter his mind with ease, but the cunning deviltry had also permitted her to project upon him the temperature and severity of the passionate firestorm in which she currently burned. The torture was exquisite.

In verity he nearly nudged her over the edge, for there was little he could deny her. Yet, in that instant he’d not sanction the end she so brazenly sought. Not until she comprehended that every delectable part of her belonged to him alone and Bob responded as such.

“I comprehend, babe. I comprehend,” she babbled. “I just need…”

“Need what, Little Love?” Her magic unpacked the memory of them in her washroom. Bands of pleasure ripped through him in a way his manhood never even perceived to be possible.

Before he could reach the pinnacle of his orgasmic peak the vision transformed to her in the suite’s washroom when she’d showered earlier that evening. She stood under a rainstorm worth of water droplets as she slid her fingers between Bob’s lips to manipulate his firm little tongue as she rasped his name in a litany which reminded him of a religious chant.

Although, the ecstasy her actions provoked weakened his knees, he still somehow found her machinations wanting. Frustration flared from her in waves to infect him. He closed his mind’s eye against her mental attack. He closed his eyes and swallowed to coerce himself into concentrating on the task at hand. The tips of his fingers grazed the inner warmth of her feminine softness. Her inner walls contracted around his fingers. “ _Speak_ to me of what it is you need.”

“You, Kol. Only you,” she whispered over her shoulder.

“Have me you shall, my darling.” He plunged his fingers deeper into Mr. Marley’s drooling mouth. She mewled. “And since you’ve dispensed with your pride I now intend to facilitate your fall?”

Returning her kindness he projected visions of him taking her from behind as he clutched the silken wavy locks at the base of her skull in his fist while his nails bit callously into her hip. He also conveyed all the penetrating sensations he imagined sliding into her constricting sodden channel would stimulate within him. By the time the last iniquitous vision faded to black, his impious little goddess clawed at the synthetic fabric of the duvet with relentless abandon until the contractions in her womb grew in strength and a piercing scream annihilated her vocal chords. The impressive weight of her climax drove her face in to the mattress. Her body soon followed.

Since completion of her tutelage cavorted nowhere within sight he rolled his trembling goddess’ onto her back. He then divided her legs, buried his face into the apex of her thighs and resumed devouring the treasured delicacy which had been denied to all but him. Once again her tide rose and her slit released a flood which very well may have drowned him had he not dedicated himself to not squandering even a drop of her sought after amrita. The scent of her arousal grew denser and demanded to be attended.

Standing from his crouch at the side of the bed he removed his trousers faster than even Elijah could conceive. He climbed on the mattress and resettled himself in the cradle of her lovely thighs. When the bell head of his manhood brushed Bob’s entrance his Little Love’s breath hitched.

He paused before advancing. “There’ll be pain, Bonnie.” He kissed her forehead. “However, I’ll do everything within my control to lessen your discomfort.” His lips grazed the bridge of her nose. “Yet, in order to achieve those goals, I’ll have to proceed very slowly and carefully.” he claimed her mouth in a thrusting oral play which raided their minds until they were nothing more than senseless writhing bodies.

As he tasted the tangy sweetness of her mouth he pressed forward. Moans pushed at the seams of their sealed lip, both unsure which muted shriek of pleasure belonged to whom. Moments later he met resistance. He tore his lips from hers to search for consent or denial in her expression. Concurrence lit his goddess’ features aglow. She gazed up at him with wide eyes that silently impelled him to continue his momentum. Her fingernails in his shoulders dug deeper to reiterate her silent plea. Powerful Bennett magic seeped into jagged openings of his wounds. Something hot, potent, and recently unbound ripped through his veins and scorched his arteries to seek out the influx of her sorcery.

Kol felt the exact moment when the feral force of light collided with the ancient sorcery of the Bennett lineage. The impact of turquois fire and blazing gold flames nearly imploded him while compelling his hips to rock forward. His John Thomas tore through the flimsy barrier of her maidenhead and then the scent of her magical life force merged with her blood. Every nerve ending in his person exploded from puissant energy and tongue paralyzing pleasure. Bonnie’s body seized underneath his.

Gold light shot from every pore, hair follicle, and orifice of her bucking frame and penetrated him. In return a faint turquoise glow bled from him into her, blending them together. Even as he sensed his essence hurtling through her, he could also actively feel her mystical sorcery surging through him. Two entities functioning as one. An infinity loop of perpetual unity.

His goddess’ fingernails took leave of his shoulder to pierce his arse cheeks. Taking the brutality of her command in ease, he began to plunge into her with an unruliness which could only be described as primal, feral even. To gain leverage he climbed to his knees, and then gripped the swells of her hips to hoist her lower half from the bed. Her clawing grasp fell away as she shifted to use her elbows to maintain her balance. The muscles in her abdomen flexed, while her bosom jiggled from the slamming impact of each of his thrusts.

Discarding the necessity to maintain precision he submitted to the madness of his lust and leaned forward to capture a firm chocolate dipped nipple between his teeth. He fortuitously scraped her breast with the sharp edge of his fang. Her tangy lifeblood filled his mouth and spurned the last of his restraint. The soft flesh of her bosom slid from his lips. A fractions of a second later he punctured her carotid. Once again her hot satin soft walls gripped his manhood in a vice clench. Without even a tickle in his knackers for warning, he exploded and filled her to the brim with his seed.

Spent, he collapsed on top of her. Before slumber had its way with him, the urge to speak his heart to Bonnie swelled in the depths of there now strangely conjoined essences. However, the gravity of his emotions for her had the potential to tear them apart. Particularly after everything which had transpired between them within the span of twenty four hours. So instead of speaking his truth out loud he whispered his confession in the comfort of his mind as he watched her lose her own battle to exhaustion. _I love you more than you can possibly ever know, Goddess._

“Love you too, babe,” she murmured almost too low for even his exceptional Original auditory senses to perceive.

Joy nearly strangled him. “What say you, Little Love?”

Deep even respirations answered him. Then loud snorts and snuffles followed. When he shifted to stare down at her, his tiny calloused heart descended to his great toe. Exhaustion had claimed its first victim of the evening, for his goddess was soundly committed to her dreams. He released his disappointment on the wings of an exhale and with all the ease of a seasoned thief he slid in her mind to join her.  

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s another one. Sorry it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve updated this WIP. Had to give Francesca time to switch gears. She’s been on some other ish lately. It’s Gucci, though. I was able to lock her down long enough to drop this update. This one is kinda a filler chapter so don’t flame me too bad. Action is coming. You have my word! Serendipity, hope this answers your question about the psycho witch who tried to put Bonnie face down in the dirt. If not let me know. So, Peeps! Here you go. Enjoy…
> 
> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. And to add unfairness to poetic injustice, neither does the shows or the books. However, I still intend to pull the characters' strings and make them dance, all while having a ball upsetting canon plot lines!

“I mean, I know Abby told me the Bennett spirits wanted to snatch her to the other side, but I didn’t think they’d come after me and be so aggressive about it,” Bonnie said. She sat astride Kol, buck ass naked, while they fed each other breakfast.

Being wrapped tight with him in their post lovemaking bubble felt more natural than nature itself. But could she call it lovemaking, though? Hmm, could the term really apply to what they’d done the night before and twice that morning? The phrase somehow seemed so inadequate. He’d snatched her world inside out, for goddess’ sake! Now there she basked in the aftermath of knowing she’d no longer ever be able to exist without him. His touch, kiss, and devout obsession to please had shattered her, but not beyond working order. No, he’d allowed her to remain somewhat intact. At least intact enough that she’d turn on and function only for him.

Kol palmed her breast and gave the sensitive flesh a firm squeeze. Her breath caught. He took the opportunity to slide a pineapple cube into her mouth. “I’ve always had a profound respect for the Bennett spirits. Even before Ayana named herself my mentor. However, after their repetitive attempts on your life they may now consider themselves my sworn enemies.”

She swallowed the pineapple cube, and then shoved the last piece of bacon between his lips. “I think they already do, babe.” Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his, savoring the salty hickory taste. The kiss lingered for few moments before she reluctantly pulled away. “They even went as far as to have a witch infiltrate your coven. Wonder how long she’s been part of Lou’s inner circle. And why the hell didn’t we sense her magic before she went wicked?”

“A powerful cloaking incantation can allow a witch the means to conceal her magic,” he murmured. His hand slid over her hip to stroke the curve of her ass. She shifted her lower half so the shaft of his manhood slipped between Bob’s lips. “Lou’s given her assurances that she’ll seek us out once she understands more of the high priestess’ divination on the prodigal Bennett witch.”

“What do you think all that worshiping B.S. was about? We nearly had to damn near our way out of there.” She rocked her hips and his penis supplied her pearl with enough friction to make Bob drool. Her breath caught. The awakening in her lower abdomen and core wrenched a faint moan from her. “Regina tenebris…”

“Dark queen,” he whispered, while flicking her nipple with his thumb.

The bell end of his penis grazed the Tuff’s opening. Her eyes rolled closed as she forced her attention to remain on topic. “They mistook me for Abby, they had to. After all it was her magic that showed up, set shit off, and threw up the Bennett’s magical symbol—like a gang sign—so that den of heathens wouldn’t get it twisted. And that was cray within itself. Dark magic repping a confirmed sacred coven of light.” She opened her eyes to capture his in her sight. “None of this is totaling out right.”

“Answers will soon be forthcoming, little love.” He released her breasts to cradle her face. “Even now Lou is scouring the scrolls. Once she’s successful in unraveling the many double meanings of the foretelling, she’ll be here straight away.”

“So what the hell are we supposed to do until then?” She exhaled. Being out of the mix of things thoroughly fucked her mind. “Maybe she should bring the scrolls-,” an unsuspected intake of air snatched the rest of the sentence back down her throat.

Kol’s thumb had found its way between Bob’s lips and proceeded to manipulate his tongue. “Might I suggest we conclude to the washroom? Where I’ll draw a bath so our carnal pursuits may take a more…aquatic turn.”

“Um…” She thrust her hips forward to increase the pressure of his stroke. “Well we do have some time to kill...” A moan slowly slithered from her lips, “and the things we’ve done in this bed, ooh,” a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, “may call for ten baths and a linen change.”

“I concur, goddess.” He nuzzled her neck, before his fangs scraped her carotid.

The sting detonated an implosion deep inside of her. They had maybe four minutes before her shit went critical. Before lust swept her into a black sucking hole of need. She leaned away to capture his lips. Once his lukewarm mouth covered hers he deepened the kiss. She allowed his tongue to breach the seam of her lips. The soft flesh intertwined with hers, urging her to give even more of herself.

Bonnie’s fingers tangled in his hair, she then yanked his head to the side. Giving herself the perfect angle required to dominate the kiss. After a moment of tonguing him into submission she reluctantly broke their oral play. If she gave in to what had begun to build between them, then the venue for round four would once again be bed bound. And goddess knows the sheets couldn’t endure another wet and wild excursion.

She cleared her throat. “Kol,” she whispered. “Go run the bath water.” Her lips grazed the side of his neck. “And after I clean up in here I’ll meet you in the restroom.”

Kol pulled her face back to his. He gave her a dawdling peck on the lips before climbing from the mattress and zipping to the restroom. She slid from the bed wearing nothing but a grin that almost ripped her face half. The night before started out strange as hell, but the conclusion of the evening had provided a (toes curling) happy ending.

Just thinking about the way Kol deified her body instigated every piece and part of her to hum. Her eyes slipped closed as her hand slid up her abdomen to cup one of her breasts in her palm. Goddess, help her! She was done. There was no help for her now. And Bob was beside himself. Her Original had vandalized the Rastafarian’s spot by scribbling, the property of Kol Mikaelson all over his walls.

A knock sounded on the suite’s door, snatching her from her naughty musings. Must be the extra bacon she’d ordered. She yanked the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around her bared frame. Leaving the bedroom, she hurried across the living room to answer the door. Only to be greeted by fucking Klaus. Well not Klaus in the flesh, but him via cellphone screen. Being held by one of his mentally neutered canines. He gazed at her with the look that always made her back teeth grind.

“How the hell did you find us?” She bit out through snapping teeth.

“Barge in,” he said. Pleasure leaped from his eyes as the hybrid obeyed his command and marched into the suite, shoving her to the side in the process.

“The hell!” She whirled around to track the hybrids progression into the room.

“Now turn and face the witch.” When the screen once again about face, his brows saluted her. “How did I find you? With great ease. There’s no place you are my siblings can travel I won’t eventually unearth.”

A flash of movement from the corner of her eye zipped into the room and snapped the hybrids neck. She and Kol shared a harassed stare, before he rolled the fallen hybrid on his back to retrieve the phone beneath him. Klaus watched them unconcerned. Arrogance hoisted one of his brows into his sandy blonde hairline.

“Has your tantrum now traveled into the realms of a culmination, little brother? Or should I further delay my business here while you tear the room asunder?” He questioned as a smirk perched itself on his cherry stained lips.

“You have no business here, Nik,” Kol said, while standing tall and proud in all of is bare ass glory. “In verity, you’re intruding.”

“On the contrary, Kol. Are you aware Sage retired to the other side last eve?” Klaus informed.

Kol’s stare narrowed as his head titled slightly to the side in a true, I don’t give two fucks, fashion. “And just like that, I’m even less engaged than when I first entered the room. I fail to perceive why Sage’s over anticipated demise should be of concern.” He folded his free arm across his chest.

“Wait, Sage is dead?” Bonnie went to stand by his side so she could peer at the screen. “How?”

Kol released an exaggerated sigh. “It matters not, little love. Nik-,”

“When your league of morons dispatched my sibling, every vampire he ever created or they ever created and so on, perished,” Klaus answered.

She tucked her sheet around her a little tighter. “His entire sire line!”

“Precisely,” Klaus’ glare locked with hers, “would you care to deduce what your dim-witted friends are endeavoring to do as we speak? I’ll give two guesses and will think even less of you than I already do if you attempt to utilize more than one.”

Her eyes rolled to the ceiling, while she gave her head a little shake. “They’re trying to figure out who sired what line.”

“Little witch, why would Elena choose to collect her faux sibling from his false sanctuary, only to return him to the proverbial trenches?” Klaus questioned in a way which said he already knew the answer.

Unholy glory! “If they’re searching to discover who sired their line, then they’ll try to contact the vampire who turned Katherine.”

“Rose,” Kol said, “but Elijah assured me she was no longer among the undead.”

Klaus’ smirk developed a hint of mock. “And you may hold Elijah’s assurances near and dear, baby brother. For Rose is indeed quite dead.”

“Jeremy,” Bonnie whispered.

“Your mind is a matchless jewel to be treasured, little witch.” Sarcasm oozed from both sides of Klaus’ mouth. “I’ve charted a jet to transport you to the land of Dorothy and Toto.”

“We have business here, Nik. Send Rebekah or either Elijah to manage the Salvatore and doppelslag situation.” He wound an arm around her waist. “And who the wanking hell is Dorothy and Toto?”

“Alas,” Klaus’ fire truck red lips balled into a puckered taunt. “Rebekah and Elijah are seeing to other matters. And I’m overseeing it all. So your availability volunteers you and the witch.”

“My theoretical availability is-,” Kol began

“Babe, its fine. You can leave word for her to contact you once she knows something,” she said, stroking the hand at her waist with her thumb, “but we have to go. This feels important.”

“Excellent of you to prioritize Kol’s survival over triviality, little witch. Craig will have the details. I expect you’ll resolve this bit of business to the best of your ability, baby brother.” With that said, Klaus disconnected the chat.

                                                                   

* * *

 

As Alexus Brassard sat watching the tomb about one hundred feet from hers, she wondered how the hell she’d fallen so far from her plan. A year ago she’d just entered her last year of law school in the top ten percent of her class. She was even the editor of her school’s Law Review. So what the hell was she doing sitting around in a damn dusty tomb spying on one of her fiancé’s side chicks? She was almost thirty-five weeks pregnant! Yet, even as the question raced across her mind the answer waited beyond the finish line. Donovan Hillary!

Ever since she’d met him, her life had begun to plummet faster than a broken elevator. Between the other women and shady businesses she was eyebrows deep in a life she’d never wanted. She’d worked too hard to make damn sure her current situation would never be hers. But here she was, a practical duplicate of her ghetto fabulous mother. The woman named her after a damn car she’d never even sat in. What more could be said?

She shook her head. Why the hell did men always misrepresent themselves for the ass? Had she known Donovan dabbled in street pharmaceuticals to help finance his business major, she would’ve gave him the best night of his life, and then put her clothes back on and got the hell out of dodge.

The sight of Donovan’s employee ripped her from her thoughts. Esau strolled up with his arms loaded down with…live chickens? What the fuck? A teenaged blonde girl followed with a large leather bound book pressed to her chest. Who the hell was she and where the hell was the old bitch she followed from Donavon’s motel? Before she could put more thought into the inquiry, a tall run down man rocking a head full of dirty blonde hair brought up the end of the procession. He carried something wrapped in an expensive duvet over his shoulder. It looked almost like a…

As the man turned to follow the blonde girl into the tomb an arm fell free of the covering. A familiar iced out platinum Rolex adorned the wrist and her heart stopped. Donavon! She began to shake from head to swollen ankles. What the hell had he gotten himself into? Sweet bare assed babies! Was he dead? Had one of his crazy jump offs finally killed him?

“Why keep that guy around?” The blonde man questioned as he stepped from the tomb.

The girl emerged with her nose in the air. “That guy, as you refer to him, is the closing strokes of the spell I’ll require to turn you into an Original Hunter.”

The man scoffed. “Psst, how?”

“He’s the final sacrifice,” she said, before they moved out of hearing range.

Alexus’ nostrils flared. Anger swelled her chest. Like hell he was! There’s no way in shit she’d allow him to leave her stuck raising his child alone. Who the hell did she look like, his other three babies’ mothers? She yanked her phone from her pocket and dialed. Her mother picked up on the second ring.

“Yes?”

“Mama, this Lexus,” she said as she glared across the cemetery at the other tomb.

“Hey, honey bun. You ‘bout ready to push out my grand baby?” Her mom cracked from her end of the line.

“Not yet, but that’s not why I’m calling,” she said. “I’m in Mystic Falls, Virginia.”

“Mystic Falls?! Where the hell is that?” Her voice screeched from the speaker.

She didn’t fucking know. “I’m not sure, but Donavon’s in trouble, ma. You’re gonna have to put in a call to Bay-bay and Doodoo.”

                                                             

* * *

 

“Maybe she’s not here,” his little love whispered as he broke the handle on Mary Porter’s front entrance door. He could perceive why she’d presume as such. The house and grounds were pitched in darkness. Mary always did entertain rather peculiar eccentricities.

“She’s here, goddess,” he said, not bothering to lower his voice. For what purpose? The strange bird had exceptional hearing for a second generation vampire. “In verity, she’s on the second level of the house having a rather stimulating conversation with herself.”

The door creaked open. He allowed Bonnie to proceed him into Mary’s residence. The grounds or house gave no indication Salvatore or the doppelganger had arrived. Which was just as well for them. Although, he didn’t want to slaughter them before his goddess’ sight, should the opportunity present itself, he’d seek forgiveness in favor of consent. They were now one, she wouldn’t very well tear herself in two to be liberated of him…would she?

Once inside, he couldn’t resist the urge to gather her in his embrace and plunder her mouth until her lungs shriveled from depletion of air. When she wrenched her lips away, he peppered open mouth kisses down her throat. In little passing of time, his hands slithered under the hem of her blouse. Soon as his palms slid over her warm supple laced covered breasts, moans and gasps forced themselves from her mouth.

“Ooh, Kol! We should-,” Before she could complete her sentence, a cool gush of air rushed pass him and absconded his mate from his grasp.

“Hey-…ow, bitch!” His little love’s outraged voice beckoned to him from down the hall. “The hell!”

Without further delay, he allowed their link to lead him to her. By the time he arrived at the room his goddess occupied, wails of agony greeted him. The screeches came from the fireplace where Mary Porter burned as bright as a winter solstice’s bonfire. The younger vampire fought in vain to liberate herself from the hearth, but a brass cage held her captive.

“The sodding hell? Are you responsible for this, little love?” Kol waved a hand at the fireplace. He’d had a mine to question the rampant lunatic before he dispatched her to the other side.

Bonnie stood to the side, her mouth flapped open and closed as she gawked at her hands. “She came at me and…” she slowly shook her head, “I only meant to set her dress on fire and sling her away, but…”

“Oh my god,” The doppelganger yelled from the doorway. “Did you just kill her, Bonnie?”

“Fucking Bonnie Bennett!” The elder Salvatore stepped from behind her. “You’re really beginning to make my balls itch.”

His mate scoffed. “Yeah, and that’s because of me.”

Rage incinerated his insides. Salvatore was due a sound thrashing. Smooth polished wood discovered his palm. He lifted the long sleek wooden bat and swung it at the younger vampire’s leg. The blow drove the bugger to his knees.

“Darling, its long pass time I pulled you to the carpet.” He swung again and the bat connected with his shoulder. Salvatore grunted as he fell to his opposing side. “You see you’ve turned me into someone I never wanted to be.” Raising the slender club high, he slammed the object down between the younger vampire’s shoulder blades. The wanker whimpered. “A monster who makes threats,” he clobbered the mid-section of Salvatore’s back. The bones snapped on impact. “And even shoddier than that, those threats are idle. Can you fathom the sort of disrepair these treacherous truths could do to a reputation such as mine?” He continued to batter him without the benefit of words.

“Stop, Kol!” the doppelwench cried out in vain. “Bonnie, are you gonna just stand there without saying anything?”

“She’s right, Kol. Where the hell did you get that bat?” she said, before peering down at her cellular device as a single wrinkle marred the lovely skin between her brows, “You know, it doesn’t matter. We don’t have time for you to beat the doucheyness out of Damon.” Her gaze reclaimed his, while shoving the device into the pocket of her outerwear. “That’s an all-night job and we have damn flight to catch. So either get your mind right, Mikaelson, or his ass will be the only ass you pound tonight.”

“Bonnie!” The doppelganger screeched.

“Goddess, it’s unsporting to threaten to withhold my boudoir privileges.” He kicked Salvatore in the abdomen and flung the bat to the other side of the room. “Particularly, when I’m only attempting to restore the balance between Salvatore and I, while avenging you in the process.”

“Have a look at your deranged friend Mary, Kol.” She gestured towards the still roaring blaze in the fire place. The charred remains inside no longer moved or wailed. “Does it look like I need any help with pay back? And you,” her glare swung to the doppeltwat. “I know your issues with Klaus, Rebekah, and Kol are real, but you need to cease fire ASAP! What you all did to Finn was un—f-ing—called for. Especially, since the only wrong he’s ever committed was to side with y’all and his twisted ass mother.” She stalked forth, kicking Salvatore as she passed. “Consider yourself on notice and feel free to pass this along to the gang. The Mikaelson’s are off limits, and yes…even Elijah. If you fire another shot, it won’t be just them you’re firing on, Elena.”

                                                             

* * *

 

As Niklaus Mikaelson watched his sister’s retreating back, his mind burned from the flames of an unwanted memory. His Bennett Witch gowned in nothing more than bed linen. Her hair tossed about her head as if she’d been roughly tumbled. Lips plumper than usual. They were undoubtedly swollen from spending endless hours bearing the weight of Kol’s repulsive kisses. The other half of his soul indeed!

He flung a crystal decanter at a marble column in the grand foyer. Regret nearly crippled him the moment his beloved possession quit his grasp. It had once belonged to his dear friend Napoleon. Now it was lost to him forever like that of the Bennett witch’s maidenhead. Kol had no claim to her. Fate had intended her for him, not his sadistic baby brother. He stalked over to the bookshelf and removed the first British edition of, _The Art of War_. The unmistakable clack of a wooden compartment opening greeted his auditory senses.

The incessant prattle that was Jane Austen life’s work concealed the aperture. With great disdain he removed four of the twelve published works from the shelf. He then slipped his hand into the hidden compartment. When his palm met the worn cloth wrapped about the daggers a smirk shamefully dallied with his lips. While his hybrid saw to the packing away of the house, he’d see to the collecting and storage of his siblings. He had no further employment of them now their mother had sought her leave of the living. In fact, he’d downgraded them all to liabilities.

“So who’s it to be this time, brother?” Elijah’s voice came to him from the opening of the parlor. “Kol…Rebekah…me? Perhaps you’ve grown wary of companionship altogether and intend to replace us all to our respective coffins.”

“Don’t be theatrical, Elijah,” he pulled the daggers from the hidden compartment. “I’m merely seeing to the packing and closing of the house. Mystic Falls has shed its charms. I mean to have my doppelganger, the Bennett witch, and leave of this hellish town.”

Elijah arched a brow as he strolled further into the room. “The Bennett witch? Why would you steal away with her?”

“I-I…” his eyes rolled. He then spun on his heel to fully face his older sibling with a clenched jaw. “I gave my word to her negligent mother.”

Elijah lifted a well-groomed brow. “Might I inquire when this exchange took place?”

“No you may not,” he whirled away to place the daggers on the reading desk. “Shouldn’t you be simpering behind the undead Bennett witch? I find your endless plague of nonsensical questions rather daunting, brother.”

Elijah regarded him with an unperturbed expression. “Niklaus, where will you flee this time? Which continent will endure the pleasure of hosting you and your mongrels?” His self-proclaimed noble brother slid his hand in the front pocket of his trousers. “On and on you go of everyone continuously abandoning you, yet you are the sole architect of your own misery.”

“That’s because my family _is_ ever plotting against me. It’s not enough I must deal with those outside my door who scheme to bring about my demise, I have to concern myself with my siblings as well.” He snatched a dagger from the desk and pointed it at Elijah’s breast. “Let’s not misremember what landed Kol in a box nigh a century ago. And you with your plans to slay me after the breaking of my curse. If I’m to keep the lot of you about, then I may as well dine in hell with the majority of my enemies!”

Elijah inclined his head. “You’re correct to bid farewell to Mystic Falls. I’m unable to recall a time when we lived here that our happiness wasn’t riddled with angst and bitterness.” He walked over to the wet bar poured a blended whisky into a tumbler, and then swung a discerning stare back to him. “Yet, you are in error if you mean to dagger our siblings or part ways with us in general. For family is power, Niklaus. And you’re sorely deluding yourself if you believe a majority of your enemies have been cast to the other side.”

His face twisted into a taunting smirk. “So it’s back to always and forever now, is it?”

“Brother, when have we ever truly departed from our family’s vow?” Elijah questioned, before raising his glass to salute him in toast. “For the Mikaelsons are indeed, always and forever.”

 

 

 

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks for all the love and support on this Wip, my fellow Kennett lovers. Here’s another update for the vault. Hope you all enjoy….
> 
> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. And to add unfairness to poetic injustice, neither does the shows or the books. However, I still intend to pull the characters' strings and make them dance, all while having a ball upsetting canon plot lines!

Bonnie Bennett walked into the decade's dance on the arm of a thousand year old vampire, while dressed in sinning red and unapologetic. As her gaze swept over the decorations, she grudgingly admitted Rebekah had did an A-1 job. The blonde original transformed the gym into an era of prohibition, cultural conflicts, sexual awakening, and the age of jazz. Through her creativity and vision she'd allowed them to glimpse the roar of the twenties. The resounding rumble shook them to the gristle. Kol tried to remain nonchalant, but she sensed his awe and excitement. Each emotion bubbled within Bonnie and amped her own feelings to heightened levels.

"Bekah's recreation of the twenties appears quite authentic if Nik's photographs are to be utilized as a source of reference," Kol offered, his tone noncommittal as his disinterested stare darted about the gym. "Had I been permitted, I'd have undoubtedly made a bloody mess of the decade."

She squeezed his arm. The tang of his bitterness soured her tongue and twisted her insides. He was feeling a way about being daggered for the better part of a century. Who could blame him? History was made while he napped. "It's very elaborate. Bet she cracked open the hybrid's piggy bank to pull it all together. There's no way the school would've paid for all of this."

A professional live jazz band whom she could've sworn she saw on Good Morning America performed on the small stage.

"Just as well. Nik's wealth out matches Croesus. He'll never even notice Bekah pilfered the coffers," he said as his gaze returned to her.

His chocolate browns lingered on her face, and then travelled downwards. She burned slow under his detailed assessment. Damn, she wished they were alone. She also wished the ridiculous tassel mini flapper dress she wore parlayed in a thousand pieces on his bedroom floor. Her hands clenched the ends of her feathered boa. Lust ignited within the depths of Bob's walls. Kol hadn't given her the work since Hattiesburg. Withdrawal symptoms had begun to play her dirty.

Upon their return she'd more or less moved into Klaus' mansion. Yet to her utter annoyance, the hybrid had been on some different ish. He'd actually demanded Kol and she not share a bedroom. He then proceeded to provide her with sleeping quarters on the opposite side of the damn house. Neither she nor Kol knew what to think of Klaus' crazy ass rules. Yet, she was more than sure his stunts probably contributed to a much larger scheme dedicated to bringing about her downfall. Needless to say, she slept with both eyes open.

Unadulterated need drove Bonnie's dehydrated stare to her favorite thirst trap. Her eyes drunk in every magnificent hard inch of him from head to wing tips. The period appropriate attire he wore suited him. Hell, the 1920's had been tailor made for him. How dare that sadistic dick of a hybrid, pack Kol away in a coffin? Klaus' Lucifer complex never failed to piss her off.

"You're amazing, Bonnie…aw hell…I meant you look amazing," Matt's voice greeted her from behind. Her stomach dropped. She was mentally unready and emotionally unprepared. "So freaking amazing."

She turned wearing a smile that felt a smidge out of place. Only to have the smile smack the floor along with her bottom lip. When the hell did Jeremy—Just Can't keep it Real—Gilbert blow back into Mystic Falls? He eye banged her from ankles to breasts, not giving two dry twats who saw. Confusion elbowed her in the dome. What the hell was his-broke down-issue? He'd never looked at her like his favorite thing to eat. Not even when they were wrapped tight in relationship bliss.

A low growl rumbled Kol's chest. If she didn't yoke Jeremy in line the entire encounter would go crashing to the left. "Babe, this is Jeremy Gilbert, Elena's little brother."

"Also her ex and the undisputed love of  her life," he added. His extraness puckered the skin between her brows.

Kol attempted to reach out and touch Jeremy's disrespectful ass, but she blocked him by clinging to his arm. She speared him with a, behave or else, glare. "And there's no doubt in my mind you remember Matt." Her sub-zero degree stare swung back to her double dealing ex. "Jeremy, this is my boyfriend Kol Mikaelson."

"Boyfriend? Little Love, please. I'm everything to you as you are to me." He leaned down to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth as he wrapped a possessive arm around her waist.

"Psst." A smirk pushed at the corner of Jeremy's mouth as he locked eyes with her.

"Bonnie, can we talk?" He and Matt asked in unison. Shock drove a wide blue gaze to collide with a suspicious brown stare.

Her face scrunched into a frown as she considered them both. One of the two conversations needed to be spoken. Now, however, was neither the time nor place for either.

"Can we meet at the Grille in the morning for breakfast, Matt?" She asked. Kol's grip tightened around her waist, but his lips remained pressed together. "We can talk about things then."

Matt's face contorted as if he wanted to argue, he instead bobbed his head. "Yeah, how does nine sound?"

 _Like a deadline._ "Perfect."

"Good," a less than certain smile inched across his mouth. "Save me a dance?"

"Sure," she agreed.

He nodded once more before he turned to walk away. Her gaze then moved to Jeremy only to discover him parlaying in a shit ton of smugness. He wore a smirk that looked all kinds of wrong on his face.

"Dance?" He questioned, while holding a hand out to her.

"Maybe later," she answered as she cuddled deeper into Kol's side. "And only if we can skip the conversation. Because, we both know there's nothing left to say about yester-months, Jeremy. So if you feel the need to unload and clean out your closet on my account, then let me stop you before you grab the broom and boxes. We're good."

Jeremy watched her for a moment, before he inclined his head. "Do you really believe there's nothing left to say?" He raised his hand, but then thought better of it when Kol's low growl divorced his chest to become exclusive with his vocal chords. "Bonnie, there are countless things I wanted to say to you. Things I never had the chance to say before I left for Denver." Her mouth opened to give her tongue free reign to speak on his recklessness. His candy licker, however, beat her by a syllable. "Look, let's not get into this here. How about I call you tomorrow?" Bonnie shook her head. Once again she attempted to speak her discontentment and once again he curved her. "Not about the past. All I want is to find a common understanding. So things aren't awkward." His gold speckled brown eyes pleaded with her. "Come on, Bon. It's just a phone call."

"Fine." She felt a shift in Kol's emotions. The change could only be described as homicidal. _Don't even try it, Kol!_ "Call me tomorrow." She gave him a pointed glare, before turning to regard Jeremy. "Enjoy your night." With that said, she gave her original a little shove and he led her onto a path that put her on a collision course with Caroline.

"We should talk," Caroline said to her, while staring down her nose at Kol. "Alone."

"Care-," she began.

"It's fine, goddess." Kol leaned down to kiss her neck. She bit her bottom lip to prevent a moan from skulking from her lips. "I'll see to the refreshments."

Deception pricked her mental. He was definitely up to something. He never missed an opportunity to go in on her best friend. This snatched her scrutiny from Care. She instead watched him strut towards the refreshments table.

"Elena told me what her, and the Salvatores tried." She tossed a dirty look over her shoulder. Bonnie followed her glare to Elena in time to see the brunette exit the gym. "You should know I had absolutely nothing to do with that fuckery! I only just found out about it when Stefan brought Damon back to the boarding house."

"Well you should've." She said with a shrug.

"What?" Caroline blanked.

"You should've helped them, Care. When it comes to me and Klaus', 'psycho little brother' being together," she made an air quote with her fingers, "you side with Elena." She was fucking tired of Caroline straddling the fence between her and Elena. She'd been doing it since the sand box days. "Hell, the way you feel about the idea of me and Kol I'm surprised you wasn't there helping Elena and Damon to shove the needle into my neck."

"OMG, Bonnie! You're being such a Kardashian right now! Look, do I approve of you and Klaus' brother? No, but I'd never force my opinion on you." Caroline reached out to take hold of her hand. "Sweetie, I love and respect you too much not to hear you. Now will I judge? Of course," she shook her head, "but I'd never force you to be anything other than true to yourself. And if he's who you want, then all I can do is be there when that train eventually goes screeching off the tracks. That's what best friends do."

Bonnie rolled her eyes to regard the ceiling. This bitch here! "Care-,"

"May I have this dance, Love." Once again the hybrid had managed to come within damn nearing distance without her sensing even a whisper of his toxic energy.

"Not tonight, tomorrow, or the day after," Caroline muttered as she looked away.

"Many apologies, Caroline. I, however, wasn't speaking to you," he said with his calculating stare trained on her. One of his brows inched higher than the other.

"Me?" She nearly choked on air. "Did you bump your head on the way over here?"

"Attend me on the dance floor, little witch." He extended his hand to her. "We have much to discuss about your absentee mother and how the shrew forced me to relinquish my word over to her. Not to mention," he opened the jacket of his white suit and showed her the inner lining. The handle of a dagger protruded from his inside pocket. "I'll ask only once more, before I seek out a less formidable foe. Perhaps Kol will make a better dance partner?"

"Try it and I'll put your hybrid ass so deep in the dirt, they'll find Hoffa before they ever find you." Her magic rocketed through her veins to pool in her hands.

A smirk went in on his strawberry red lips as he raised a finger she could only assume was meant to appease. "Will you dance with me?"

"How the hell can I refuse?" She questioned.

"What's the game this time, Klaus?" Care demanded. She partially stepped in front of Bonnie.

A vision of Kol daggered in a coffin rebounded off the lobes of her brain. The image shook her enough to gently nudge Caroline out of the way. "It's fine, Care. I'll find you later."

"Sweetie, are you sure?" The blonde vampire cast her skeptical blue gaze from Bonnie to glare at the hybrid. Her nose wrinkled. "I mean it's Klaus for fuck sakes."

"I'm sure," she said.

Klaus took her hand. He then led her to the center of the dance floor. Confusion blasted away her noncompliance, so when he wound his arms around her waist she barely noticed. Instead she attempted to understand his weird ass mind frame as she reluctantly snaked her arms around his neck.

They swayed for a moment before he spoke. "You look…passingly attractive tonight. It would appear the right shade of lip rouge and spiked stilettos can transform the most plain faced of harpies. Well done, witch."

"Hmm, I was just thinking the same thing about you. Your lipstick rocks way harder than mine. Which brand are you wearing, Mac or Sephora?" Sarcasm warped her lips into a twisted smile.

"Unclench and liberate your knickers. My remarks were nothing more than a compliment, love." His so called compliment had backhanded the hell out of her. "I only meant to convey that you appear less slovenly than usual tonight."

"What the hell do you want, Klaus?" Her patience had side stepped her ass about forty-five seconds into the conversation. She'd had enough of his psychotic capers. The only thing she wanted was to find Kol and make sure he hadn't body dropped Jeremy.

"I'm taking my leave of this melting pot of supernaturals." Something close to vulnerability shimmered in the depths of his eyes, but disappeared before she could be sure.

She skimmed an assessing stare over his dancing brows, scheming sky blue eyes, snobbish aristocratic nose, and his stupid smirking lips. His golden magnificence pissed her off. For she knew what lied beneath the surface of his perfection and the fuck ugliness there conflicted with his visual attractiveness.

"About damn time. I among many can't wait to see the back of you," she said, while ignoring the dull ache at the very center of her his news provoked. His knuckles began to knead the small of her back. When she attempted to pull away he held her tighter. Her magic roared to the surface. He winced, yet held firm. "I mean to take you and the doppelganger with me, little witch."

"T-the hell?!" She sputtered. "I'd rather gallop into the pit of hell on Daisy's back while doused in gasoline."

"I assured your negligent mother, I'd see to your safety during her absence and I can't very well do so if there are thousands of miles between you and me." He paused, and then continued in a softer voice that agitated her sorcery, while in turn soothed something raw and quivering deep within. "I'm aware this may not be the most faultless situation in which we find ourselves. Though, here is where we are." When she only straight-faced him, he rolled his eyes, and then tried again. "Would it improve your disposition if I allowed you to choose the destination? We can travel to any place of your choosing. Okinawa Island, Kathmandu, Corsica…unable to decide? Then we'll see them all and more, little witch."

"Klaus, I wouldn't follow you to Walmart. Why the hell do you believe I'd skip off to a whole other country with you? In fact," What was he trying to pull? Was their cease fire already over? "It would improve my disposition if you'd drop this insane pretense and tell me what this is all about! Are you trying to make Caroline jealous? Because if you are, then you're wasting both of our damn time. Care already knows how much you bother me. What part of, I can't stand you, don't you get?"

They glared at each other with so much heated intensity she wouldn't have been surprised if fire leaped from both of their sockets and burned down the entire gym.

"Hey," Stefan stopped next to them.

"What?!" They both bellowed in unison. Bonnie's magic flared as Klaus' hybrid face surfaced.

Stefan took a step back. "Your mother took Elena and erected a barrier to stop us from following."

"Impossible, my mother departed from the living two days past," Klaus seethed through a pair of fully extended fangs and canines. His eyes flared before narrowing to closed lids proportions. He spun away from them and hissed, "Rebekah!"

* * *

There was something fuckably different about Bonnie Bennett. Jeremy Gilbert couldn't put his clit flicker on it, but the change couldn't be more obvious even if he wore bifocals. From the red and black feathered headband that circled her wavy hair to her glistening red spiked heeled shoes, she'd definitely transformed from sneaky hot to sex symbol blazing. Her legs were fucktastic! She was just begging to be bagged. While that dickish Original probably didn't even know where to put it.

Jeremy swung his gaze from Bonnie only to catch sight of the tea bag taking Original in question. He lingered next to the refreshment table with a constipated look on his face as he filled a cup with punch. He changed directions and marched over to the vampire who had it in his vacant head to steal his girl.

"Less than a week," He said, as he stopped next to the Original fuck hole.

The vampire turned, but instead of regarding him, his narrow eyed glare scrutinized a dancing Bonnie and Klaus. "What are you on about, Necromancer?"

"You have less than a week with Bonnie. Then you can kiss her sexy ass goodbye, because I'm coming for her." This gained the ancient vampires attention. The soft dick side-eyed him.

"You're as disillusioned as your sister-cousin, darling." The vamp's mud brown eyes considered Jeremy with the disciplined concentration of a predator. "Bonnie is my eternal mate. We are one and you're sorely mistaken if you assume you can come for her without receiving us both. And rest assured, our joined greeting won't be the reception your barren mind may imagine."

"Oh go eat an ass, Mikaelson. I don't give a puss dripping dick about your Shakespearian words in that knock off Hamlet accent," He spun on his heel to face the not so impressive Original full on. "I said what I said, and I'd rather do Bonnie than an apology-,"

The original's hand wrapped around his throat and cut his words to nothing. "I've come to believe none of you Gilberts have the sense which ushers forth a healthy amount of self-preservation."

" _Kol!_ " Bonnie's voice met his ears, just as spots began to pepper themselves across his field of vision. "Let Jeremy go! Esther's back!"

* * *

"Ric," The doppelganger stumbled forth ahead of her upon seeing the drunkard history teacher. The severe expression he donned jolted her to a halt. "Oh my god, Ric. Are you, you?"

"I've never been more me than I am right now," he slurred.

His body swayed to and fro as he attempted to regain charge over his bearings. The subjugating scent of spirits seeped from his pores and polluted the air. Why, he's soused! Her glare snapped to Esau, who shrugged in turn. The whoreson! She'd given him one job during her leave. Entertain Saltzman in her absence. What portion of her directive equated to him dousing the, would be, hunter in a bottle of cut-rate bourbon?

"Ready the sacrifice, Esau," she said, while strolling further into the tomb.

A large stone bowl of fire burned on an altar in the center of the dusty space. The closer she drew the brighter the crystal talisman glowed nestled between her bosoms. The flames in the sand stone basin arced and licked the granite overhead. She withdrew the sacrificial athamae from the altar, and then beckoned for the drunkard to join her. He stumbled to the center of the tomb, joining her next to purifying blaze.

The doppelganger followed. "What're you gonna do to him?" The hollow-headed twit demanded as she rounded the altar to confront her.

"What is necessary," she said, while plunging the blade into the flames. Her regard flicked to her manservant. "Esau, awaken Donavon."

"Just how the hell am I supposed to do that? The big dumb one over there dropped him earlier and Mr. Hillary didn't even stir," he snapped as he placed the last candle to complete the circle around the altar.

A long suffering sigh fled from her mouth. Was common sense not quite common in this era? "Utilize the vial of elixir from the satchel I entrusted you with this morn. How will you ever manage ownership of an establishment such as Ho-Tails if you have difficulties recollecting undemanding particulars?"

The toad hurled daggers at her face with a well-aimed glare, but held his tongue as he saw to her bidding.

"Let me guess," The doppelganger's voice forced the wench back into the ancient witch's regard. "I'm only her because you need my blood, right?"

"What else would be the point of you?" Her patience with the child had come and fled. Shrill laughter pierced her lips. "You're the end result when creativity perishes. An unremarkable echo through time which to everyone's annoyance repeats itself."

There was no cause to continue applying lips to her scrawny little backside. The dim-witted drunkard was now well-in her grasp. In glaring verity, the chit now cavorted within the palm of her hand. She could demand the twit hop on one foot and bark like a hound and she'd do so. Especially, if the act meant keeping her moronic history instructor among the living.

The chit opened her mouth to undoubtedly spew insolence, when the door to the tomb burst open. Two large men and two women rushed into the small space. The younger woman was heavy with child. While all carried firearms larger than small babes and as black as a moonless night.

"Get them motherfuckin' hands up," One of the large scoundrels dressed in villain attire bellowed. Her hands flew to her talisman. A thunderous clap reverberated off the walls of the tomb. Mere seconds later a searing blow to her left shoulder knocked her low. Her back collided with the stone altar.

"He said raise those hands, bitch," The elder of the two women yelled. "Move wrong again and I swear before gawd, your ass will never move again. Now where the hell's Donavon?"

The addled brain Mr. Saltzman rushed forth to come to her aid. Another explosion of sound assaulted her auditory senses. A heartbeat after which, the dim-wit soared through the air and landed on his back several meters away.

Donavon staggered his way over to the assembly of reprobates. "Light this motherfucka, Ma Relle. Start with that bitch right there." He raised a finger to her.

"I'ma need you to shut the fuck up, Don! You didn't have any business being with that old ass bitch in the first damn place." The wench with child wound her way between the two large men to stab him in the forehead with her index finger. "What the fuck is wrong with you? First you get crabs from that college freshman and now you want worms from her grandmother! I'm done! When we get back to the house, I'm bagging up your shit and putting your dumb ass—owww…holy damn!" The wench's entire frame inclined forward as she clutched her abdomen.

"Lexus," the elder woman lowered her gun to come to her aid. "Baby, are you alright? Is it time?"

"Lex?" Donavon tried to lift her into his arms, but nearly buckled from the effort.

"Help him, Doodoo, so we can get the hell out this damn stuck in time town. We have who we came here for," The elder woman referred to as Ma Relle instructed. One of the burly rogues moved to sweep the pregnant wench into his arms.

"What about these bitches, Relle?" Donavon questioned. "You just bodied this man. By the time we make it to the rides, these foot dragging chickens will already be on the horn with Nine."

"Yeah? And what the hell will they tell them, D? This dry twat heffa snatched and stashed your ass. She ain't talking to nobody." The other ruffian lent his support to Donavon, and then allowed himself to be ushered to the door by Relle. "What you need to be worried about is your own ass. 'Cause if anything happens to my baby or my grandbaby I'm gonna be the one who buries your slick ass."

The tomb door slammed closed after them. Esau hurried over. Tension creased his hawkish features. When he stooped to see to her aid, she dragged the sharpened edge of the athamae across his throat. Since Donavon had fled, another sacrifice was due. Deep crimson spewed from the gash at his throat and covered her from hairline to breasts. Shock snatched Esau's eyes wide even as the spark of life glimmering there began to diminish.

With shaking hands she tapped the point of the blade to the crystal. The talisman thrummed to life. A violet glow illuminated the depths of the jewel until the pendant hummed with energy. The doppelganger's gasp mingled with the high pitched screams of the departed soul. After witnessing the transference of the essence into the dagger, Elena hopped to her feet and made a dash for the entrance of the tomb.

"Wait," Esther rasped, while attempting to raise an arm. "If you leave Alaric will surely meet his end."

The chit halted mid-stride. Slowly, she turned to face her perishing instructor. Her shoulders sagged under the burden of resolve, before she ambled to her. She held out an arm. "Take whatever you need. Just help him."

With great effort and the wench's assistant she struggled to regain her footing. Once she stood she plunged the blade into the flames. The purifying fire renewed the magical athamae. She lent the chit her focus. "Your hand."

Her vision tunneled. The time the Bennett spirits had bestowed upon her now travelled towards an imminent conclusion. She would perish within the hour. The oozing hole in her left shoulder accredited assurance to her demise. With every gush from her wound her life force increasingly seeped away. The reason for her purpose loomed before her. It was either now or failure. When the chit extended her hand she sliced open her palm. A sharp intake of air from her thin lips disturbed the silence of the tomb.

Esther yanked the brass chalice from the altar and utilized it to capture the cascade of cerise fluid. "Assist me over to him. He must ingest your blood if I'm to save him. Take the goblet." She pushed the vessel into the doppelganger's hands.

"How? My blood doesn't heal," the chit argued as she allowed Esther to slip her arm around her shoulders, while clutching the stem of the chalice with the opposing hand.

Esther ignored her inane question in favor of kneeling next to the semi-conscious instructor. "Assist him in raising his head. It's imperative we make haste."

The doppelganger moved to cradle his head in her lap. When his head rose above his chest, she placed the goblet to his lips and tilted the cup. Moments later he began to gag as the chit's blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. As the last drop drained from the chalice, she wheezed out the chant to activate the athamae. The smoky violet hue of her magic seeped from the blade as she raised the dagger over her head.

"Wait! What the hell do you think you're doing?" The chit screamed. "You said you'd save him!" She sobbed as salt water trails flooded her cheeks. "You said you'd save him."

Her sobs however was for naught. Esther removed the Gilbert ring from Mr. Saltzman's finger, and then plunged the athamae into the center of his chest until the hilt met his left breast. She twisted the blade, before withdrawing it. "And now I have."

With the remainder of her strength she stood. She then limped over to the altar and grasped the last of the white oak stake in existence. A sigh oozed from her lips. Her limbs had begun to weigh one her. Only, a bit more. Then she could depart to the other side in peace knowing she'd restored the balance. She yanked the talisman from her throat. After she smeared the blood from the blade on the stake, she began to chant as she tossed the sacred wood, Alaric's ring, and crystal into the fire. Amber flames morphed into a violet blaze. Shrieks from multiple souls quaked the grounds and walls of the tomb. The inferno burned for several moments, and then the purifying flares subsided. A silver metallic coated stake rested at the bottom of the stone bowl.

Lastly, her designs had come to fruition. She plucked the reformed stake from the stone bowl and limped back over to the now deceased drunkard. Elena still cradled his head in her lap as she quietly wept over his lifeless body. Her sable hair curtained the sides of her face. Taking advantage of the chit's distraction, Esther slipped the stake within the instructor's jacket pocket.

"Take comfort in knowing you'll have an opportunity to say your farewells. He'll awake soon in transition." She stood from her crouch and swayed. It wouldn't be long now.

"You said you would save him," she whispered once more.

"In time you will see that I have. In time you will see I've saved you all." She spun on her heel and hobbled towards the entrance.

If she was to perish, she'd prefer to commune with nature once more before she greeted her end. Under the moon that had witnessed the death of her final babe and the stars which had observed as she committed her greatest sin. She wanted to once again feel the favor of the mother of all. A thousand years of wrong would now be set to rights, while Ayana's line would forever more remain intact. The young Bennett witch would live and her children would die as they should have a millennium before.

As she crossed the threshold she craned her neck to gaze up at the sky. Thick clouds blanketed the heavens. Of course, just as she should've expected. There would be no pardon from nature until the deed was done. Soon enough, though. The drunkard would not fail her. His determination was unfaltering. She'd gone to unfathomable lengths to assure it to be so.

As she limped further into the opening, the fine hair on the surface of her skin raised. A sorcery of overwhelming potency of which she'd never known nearly knocked her down. The deviltry even outmatched that of her horrid elder sister Thalia. Turquoise and gold auras torched the darkened cemetery into a gilded array of azure and emerald light.

Unease settled into the stuttering organ deep within her breast. In that moment she comprehended she'd committed a grave misstep by overlooking a blatant variable. The merging of two powerful blood lines. Clarity tore unawareness from her muddled mind. Those Bennett bitches! They'd cast her in the role of fool and she'd allowed them to do so. The balance needed not to be restored. The scales had evolved and she'd unwittingly positioned herself on the wrong side of the evolution. She opened her arms and mouth to welcome her children. Only to have a fist plunged into her rib cage within a single beat of a heart.

"My true favored son," she rasped as she gazed into the overpowering brilliance of his magical aura. The thread of crimson which heralded his vampirism was barely visible. Shimmering golden wisps whirled liberally through the turquoise depths.

Mock flared his cold brown eyes. "Well isn't this rich! You finally acknowledge me as a favored son. Perhaps I should've held your heart in the palm of my hand ages ago."

"My deepest regrets are bequeathed to you and your siblings," she coughed and frothy blood bubbled from her mouth. "I fear I've allowed the Bennett spirits to fashion me into a weapon. Your siblings and you must fle-,"

"Farewell, mother. May your wretched soul never know peace," he whispered in a tone liberated of emotion. The final sight to meet her tunneling vision was her crimson drenched heart dripping from her youngest son's firmly clenched fist.


	19. Chapter 19

As Bonnie stepped into the crypt the overbearing stench of blood and rot crammed itself into her nostrils. The stony composure of death stilled the air. Remnants of dark magic assaulted her senses and agitated her sorcery. Everywhere she looked carnage and gore painted her field of vision. A man she’d never seen before lay at the base of the altar with his throat sliced open. His frozen fear stricken stare remained fixed on the ceiling, silently conveying the forbidding final moments of his life.

Her gaze readily swung from Esther’s unknown victim to Elena. Sympathy and grief fractured Bonnie’s rapidly thudding heart. Her once best friend sat a few paces away with a lifeless Alaric cradled in her arms. The entire front of the vintage white flapper dress she wore was saturated in her unofficial guardian’s blood. Tears drenched her face as snot ran freely from her nose.

Without rhythm or reason Elena rocked back and forth as her frame shaking sobs entangled themselves with five repeated words, “She promised to save him.”

Bonnie closed the distance between them in a couple of hurried steps. Once she towered over Elena and Ric’s body, she squatted next to the brunette. Gently, she pushed a few strands of hair that escaped the confines of her coiffure behind her ear.

“Elena,” Bonnie uttered as she attempted to push beyond her own conflicting emotions. She arranged her dress as best she could, and then settled on her knees next to her friend.

“She promised she’d help him,” Elena sobbed to no one in particular in a fractured whisper.

“Will you sodding lot ever comprehend? Esther is the crowned queen of duplicities and falsehoods. Unless your needs coincide with her goals her word will never be any more than uninspiring fiction.” Kol’s scrutinizing glare travelled over the havoc left in Esther’s wake.

Elena whimpered and shrunk in on herself as she clutched Ric’s head even tighter to her chest.

“Babe,” Bonnie exhaled with an exaggerated eye roll.

When his chocolate browns found hers she shook her head. Although agitation manipulated his features he pressed his lips together and turned away to regard the contents in the sandstone bowl on the altar.

She gave her mind a mental shake as she resumed comforting Elena. Kol really needed to check his damn pettiness. There was no need for, I told you so’s. Everyone knew the fuck up they’d committed by dealing with the likes of his mother. Guilt weighed heavy on them all. Not one among them could be pardoned for their actions, especially her. She was the one who released Esther’s nutty ass from her coffin in the first place. And yeah, she could say it’s all the Salvatores’ doing, but the undeniable truth was it was her magic therefor her responsibility.

“Ric!” Jeremy cried upon entering the crypt. He then rushed over to them, taking the place on the opposite side of Elena. “What’s wrong with him? Why isn’t he moving?” His questioning stare swung from Elena to her just as realization acquainted itself with his grasping mind. “Is he-,”

“She promised she’d help him, Jer. All she needed was my blood…she promised,” Elena repeated as she rested her forehead on Alaric’s.

Despite her and Elena’s difficulties over the past few weeks, Bonnie’s heart outright ached for her estranged friend. The fact she’d suffered another loss was just well…wrong. What did she ever do to deserve all this damn angst? Hell, what did any of them do?

Somehow they’d unknowingly topped Nature’s hit list and the smoke was motherfucking real. The thought provoked Bonnie’s sorcery to whip at the inner lining of her vessels as the distressing notion continued to hammer the walls of her mind. In undisputable realness, Nature had put a contract on each of their heads. And Death was just petty enough to damn near everyone they cared about before he finally decided to come for them?

The upset in her magic increased, while her brain gave birth to another question. Why the hell did Esther need Elena’s blood to save Ric? To her knowledge and the vast information within her grimoire collection, doppelganger blood didn’t have healing properties. Though it was potent enough to fuel some pretty nasty spells. A cruddy feeling settled at the bottom of her gut. What the hell was Esther’s end game?

“What was the cankerous bitch plotting?” Kol murmured as he dipped two fingers into the ash parlaying at the bottom of the stone bowl.

He brought the ashes to his nose and inhaled. Seconds later her psyche was pulled into his ponderings. The swiftness of his mind as they flipped through different scenarios which fit the current setting, nauseated her. The break neck speed of his thoughts threw her off balance. Unable to adjust to his vampire mentality, she squeezed her eyes shut and attempted to untangle her mind from his. Moments later her thoughts was her own once again. She gave her brain another mental shake. How the hell wasn’t he stark raving looney from his real life _Beautiful Mind_ issues?

Damon and Stefan snatched her from her head by hurtling across the expanse of the crypt to tower over them. Stefan squatted so he was eye level with Elena, while Damon stood back to observe them all.

“Everything’s gonna be find Elena. Bonnie’s going to fix this.” Stefan assured, while placing a hand on her shoulder.

The hell?! How the shit was he going to volunteer her for the fuckery? Other than the tonic, she didn’t know a got damn thing about necromancy.

At that moment Alaric stirred in Elena’s arms, before his eyes snapped open to dart over his surroundings. Seconds later he shoved himself free of the brunette’s hold as he snatched his shirt open to glare down at his chest.

“I-I r-remember everything,” he stammered when his gaze located Damon. “He was in control b-but I remember. She tried to turn me into one of them…I think,” his uncertain stare flicked to Klaus, before recapturing Damon’s. “I must’ve survived, though.” He blinked. “But how?”

“So that’s the conclusion you’ve come to, mate? How ambitious of you,” Klaus snarked.

“What th-the hell’s th-that supposed t-to mean?” Alaric forced through the chattering of his teeth.

“Don’t listen to him, Ric. Everything’s gonna be fine,” Elena assured in a patronizingly soothing tone that couldn’t even calm a comatose patient.

The hybrid threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Well fear not, then. If the doppelganger spouts such optimism, then it must be resoundingly true.”

“Klaus!” Bonnie hissed. The last thing the situation needed was his dry commentary from the sidelines.

Klaus’ brows leaped into his hairline as his signature smirk had its way with his cherry stained mouth. The amusement that glittered his eyes, provoked hers to roll. He thrived on attention and she refused to feed him.

“I could’ve sworn I was stabbed…no shot…or was it both.” Confusion crumpled Alaric’s brow as he considered his soiled ripped shirt and unblemished blood stained skin.

“It was both,” Elena confirmed, before wrapping him in a snug embrace. “I’m so sorry, Ric.”

Jeremy caught Bonnie off guard by lunging across Alaric’s body to snatch her up in a body constricting hug. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, inhaled and then whispered, “Thank you, Bonnie.”

Kol’s thirst for blood slashed at her mind and seared her throat. His need to rip Jeremy a new one motivated her hands to shake. The hell? It was way pass time she go spell book diving. Their bond strengthened with each passing day and she couldn’t help but wonder if sex had been the catalyst.

Jeremy’s continued whispers of unnecessary praise pulled her focus. “You stay coming through for us, even when we don’t always deserve it.” He drew her closer, and the added press of his body against hers made her magic churn.

Bonnie didn’t know what the hell to say to his misplaced gratitude. She hadn’t uttered a spell or lit one damn candle in an attempt to revive Alaric. She shot Kol a pointed look, hoping for an assist, but for the first time since he’d said his name was Leopold, he wasn’t running her any attention. The ashes in the sandstone bowl still arrested his notice.

“Oh my god, Ric,” Elena rasped in a hoarse thickened tone as she leaned back to capture his face in the cradle of her hands. “I thought for sure you were dead.”

Twitchy stares ranging from nervous to paranoid ricocheted about the room. Everyone other than Elena and Jeremy read the tilted situation as if it were covered in compelling sentences and gripping paragraphs. This was not the moment to celebrate. She had to give Esther her props, the unoriginal witch had left them with one hell of a parting shot before she dropped the proverbial mic.

“Don’t be daft. He’s in transition, love,” Klaus said as he wrenched Bonnie from Jeremy’s suffocating hold.

Disbelief locked the muscles in Kol’s face. “Mother wouldn’t…she wouldn’t dare cross nature again!”

“Has your vision been impaired along with your senses, Kol?” The hybrid snapped as he helped her stand. Once she found her footing, she couldn’t help but notice his hand still remained wrapped around her arm. “Our treacherous mother has gone and fashioned herself another original. Why else would she need the doppelganger’s blood?”

“You can’t be serious,” Stefan said as he angled his head to stare over his shoulder at Klaus.

“He can’t be allowed to complete the transition. Knowing our wretchedly departed mother, I wouldn’t be shocked to discover she’s made a few improvements to her flawed immortal spell,” Kol said as his narrow eyed stare fell to Klaus’ hand that was still wrapped around her upper arm.

The hybrid released his hold on her to raise an exacting clawed hand to Alaric. “Agreed.”

“No!” Elena threw herself in front of Ric and Stefan threw himself over her.

Damon zipped forth and attempted to snap Klaus’ neck. The hybrid spun on his heel and counteracted the move with a powerful blow to Damon’s chest. Fractions of a second later the younger vampire was airborne. Moments after that his lean body collided with one of the stone walls of the crypt. The shattering of bones sounded on impact.

“They’re right, Elena. Once I transition, I’m dead anyway,” Alaric said, before resting his cheek on the top of her head. “But, if I stop myself from going through with the change my alter ego will die too. Then you and your brother will be safe…” he glanced from Kol to Klaus, “at least for now.”

“Yeah, but how do we know you want be you?” Jeremy questioned. “You could come through transition and be the same as you are now?” Hope glinted his brown eyes.

Klaus scoffed and sent all of Jeremy’s hopes straight to hell. “Esther leveraged her final breath on this line of attack. You’d all be blundering fools if you believed she hadn’t calculated all variables. Concluding the ever pissed history instructor is the only viable alternative.”

Klaus tore Elena from Alaric’s arms and gently shoved her to the side. When Stefan attempted to charge him, he snapped his neck. The younger vampire’s body crumpled at their feet. Jeremy lunged at the hybrid, but before he could reach his target Kol snatched him back by the nape of the neck. Within the fluttering of her lashes, the hybrid had Ric’s head trapped between his palms.

“ _No!_ ” Elena screeched with outstretched hands. “Please don’t kill him, Klaus! I’ll do anything…anything damn it!”

“Shut the hell up, Elena.” Damon struggled to stand. Once on his feet, he tore a metal spike from the wrought iron door and hurled it at Klaus.

Without one thought skittering across Bonnie’s brain, her magic surged to the surface. With ease she reversed the trajectory of the iron spike and flung it back to him. The metal tore through his abdomen and held him captive as it continued on its path. The sheer force of the soaring object snatched him off his feet and impaled him to the far wall of the crypt. Klaus’ questioning gaze found hers. She raised and dropped a shoulder in a noncommittal shrug. She’d already put the Scooby Gang on notice about the Mikaelsons. If they wanted to test it, they’d learn tonight. She’d make sure of it.

“Holy shit, Bonnie! You’re protecting this dick now,” Jeremy accused as betrayal twisted his face into a soft five.

Bonnie skewered Jeremy with an indifferent stare. “I’m doing what I’ve always done, Jeremy. Protecting who I love. Didn’t you do the same for Anna when you stole Elena’s necklace?”

“You know for someone who claims to be over me, you sure love revisiting old shit,” Jeremy snarled.

“Jeremy, enough.” Ric snapped.

“Keep it up, little Gilbert, and I’ll gorge myself on the good instructor’s vocal chords while you both watch,” The hybrid hands left Ric’s head to grip his throat.

“Klaus is right, it’s for the best, Elena,” Alaric managed to rasp despite the hand wrapped around his throat. “Look, I want nothing more than to shove these original fuckers to the other side, but I refuse to allow you and Jeremy to be buried under the fallout. Besides, we still don’t know which sire line Caroline and the Salvatore’s belong to. I’m okay with this, it has to happen.” With that said, Ric then forced his eyes to meet Klaus’. “Get on with it.”

“ _No, wait!_ ” Elena rushed forth to reclaim her place next to Alaric. “I mean it Klaus! I’ll do anything if you’ll allow Ric to die in peace and with dignity.” Tears brimmed her lower lids as her pleading eyes bore into Klaus’. “You want me to leave with you…fine, I will. I won’t fight you anymore, I promise. Just give Ric these last few hours to say goodbye.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Damon growled from his place on the cement wall.

Jeremy struggled in Kol’s grasp. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Elena?”

Ric shook his head. “I can’t allow-,”

“It’s not up to you, Ric,” she said without sparing him a glance. Instead she continued watching Klaus as wild crazy burned hell fire bright in her Brandywine gaze. “Do we have a deal?”

“Why’re you hesitating, Nik. Slay the drunken bastard and let’s be done with all of it,” Kol said, while grabbing a fist full of Jeremy’s hair and yanking his head back to further restrict his movements.

Klaus ignored Kol as his penetrating stare strayed to her. “And what of the witch?”

 _“What about the witch?”_ Kol ground out through the slits of his teeth.

Ignoring Kol, Klaus continued to consider her. “What will you have me do, little witch?”

Not only did Klaus’ question snatch her brain out of order, but his soul destroying stare slammed brakes on her spinning world in general. What the hell was he up to? He knew damn well he didn’t give two Salvatores about her opinion so why pretend he did? Aggravation consumed her whole. Klaus annihilated her nerves with all of his out of character behavior. Yet, Kol and Klaus was right. If Esther’s plan was contingent upon Alaric transitioning, then he had to die. Preferably, the sooner the better.

Elena pleaded Alaric’s case with one word, “Bon?”

“Klaus, you’ll do whatever the hell you want regardless of what I say,” she said, while unsuccessfully attempting to avoid Elena’s watery brown gaze. The moment their eyes locked years of friendship came hurtling back and she lost her nerve. “But for whatever sway you’d like to pretend I have in your decision making, I think you should…allow Ric this time to say goodbye.”

Even as she voiced the request she knew Klaus should’ve ended Alaric’s—in transition—ass. Because if she was running it above a hundred, she knew procrastination would come back to snatch a knot in all of their money makers. By letting Ric die on his own terms, they were presenting the Spirits with opportunity and a shit ton of untold possibilities.

“Interesting.” A mocking smirk bursting with condescension and scorn had its way with his ridiculous cherry red lips. “You know your request is a threat to your precious Kol’s existence and yet you still ask it of me…why? Could it be you’re considering resuming your doomed position of Mystic Falls’ Savior?”

“Can we not do twenty-one questions right now, dick?” Jeremy demanded.

“Jeremy, please,” Elena begged, while never removing her—woe is me—stare from Klaus.

The hybrid’s scrutiny scorched Bonnie a little longer before he inclined his head. “Have it your way then, little witch.”

Seconds later Klaus was gone, and Bonnie’s overpowering feelings of doom and regret had begun to fester.

                                                          

* * *

 

Kol lay upon Bonnie’s bed at her deceased grandmother’s abode staring at the ceiling. His thoughts replayed the night’s events. Even with all which had occurred throughout the course of the evening, from him dispatching his mother to the little Gilbert wretch’s return, Nik’s actions toward his mate is what troubled him most. His first transgression being his offered proposal to whisk her away on a tour of the globe, and then him foregoing a compulsory bloodletting in favor of honoring her wishes. Niklaus’ conduct towards Bonnie has always struck him as rather telling, however, his behavior as of late was downright idiosyncratic. The way in which he gazed upon her within the burial chamber, well it was almost as if…

“Babe, where are you right now?” His little love’s stunning face looming over his wrenched his consideration from the inconceivable.

He dragged his finger down the smooth valley of skin which travelled between her bosoms. A slight intake of breath disturbed her lovely mouth as an answering smirk toyed with his. “I’m here with you, goddess. Are you not aware of the amorous threat at your glorious gates?” He drove his very attentive cock into the crotch of her dampened undergarments to lend emphasis to his words.

“Oh Bob is very aware of Nessie,” she dipped her head to capture his lips in a fleeting kiss, “but _I’m_ also aware that her attempts are nothing more than automatic. The detachment in your eyes tells me your mind isn’t in this. What’s wrong, Kol? Is it me?”

“What is this blasphemy which slides so readily from your quite appetizing lips, my darling?” He pressed his mouth to hers in a lingering kiss. When he withdrew his lips from hers he arrested her gaze with what hoped was a cogent stare. “You consume every misshapen and perverse part of my mind. Even now my thoughts lie with you…and Nik.”

“Klaus?!” She bellowed as she sat upright. “Why? What the hell did he do this time?!”

“I believe he may have fostered somewhat of an infatuation for you,” he said as he studied her face for any stray expression that would afford him a bit of insight into her thoughts. If only he could invoke their bond at will then he would know her mind and his own could finally find peace in regards to them.

“Let me shut you down right there.” She placed a finger over his lips. “I know exactly what you’re referring to, and keep in mind Klaus is a master manipulator. The only reason he’s pretending to be interested in me is to make Care jealous. Once he sees his thirst driven stunts aren’t working, he’ll be on to his next deranged scheme.”

Condescension nearly hoisted one of his brows off his face. “Although Nik’s attraction to the golden twit is apparent for even the sightless and witless to witness, I believe his interest in you is rather genuine.”

“And even if that’s true,” she placed a palm on the center of his chest, “I don’t give two sizzling hot damns. I’m not interested in leveling down to be with your brother. I love you, Kol!”

Her admission set his frozen immortality on fire. She hadn’t uttered those words since the night she’d surrendered her innocence for a pleasure filled night of wickedness and sin. And even then the declaration drifted from her lips ensnared in the throes of a slumberous sigh. Days later he’d found himself questioning his original senses. In truth, her utterance of love had become more of a fantasy than an actual memory. So to hear her profess those words with such clarity and conviction, decimated all of the insecurities his doubts had labored into existence.

“Wait,” her heart pilfering eyes narrowed to no more than slits of emerald jade. “What’s with the face? My feelings for you isn’t news, Kol. Or haven’t you been paying attention?” She wrenched herself from his embrace and mounted him in a sinuously agile repositioning.

His eyes rolled closed as Bob cradled every stiff inch of him. Hell’s glorious bells! Would she ever cease to stir the iniquitous best in him? He thrust upwards. Pleasure jarred him, while it curved her upper body rearwards in an impressive half arch. Days had been squandered since he’d last entered her and within that moment he couldn’t conceive why he’d allowed himself to be denied of what she’d so willingly offered.

“Well you’ve never consciously verbalized the depth of your emotions before now, Goddess,” he murmured as he allowed the pad of his thumb to skim across her nipple, and then slide languidly down the valley between her breasts to cross the flat plane of her abdomen. Her corresponding shudder sparked life to the deadest parts of him. “Whom am I to presume to know a witch’s mind…or heart?” His thumb slipped into Lord Marley’s folds to rediscover the enchanted button the crooner so diligently guarded.

“Ooh, babe…to hell with the presumptions,” she shifted the crotch of her undergarments to the side, before positioning his trouser snake at her sodden entrance. She then proceeded to lower herself onto him. “Let me show you what’s in my heart and mind.”

                                                      

* * *

 

Lucy Bennett strode through Mystic Falls’ Cemetery with heated conviction and a shit ton of obligated purpose. She was pissed way beyond the point of pissivity! Who the hell did Bonnie think she was to stand against the will of their Bennett ancestors? For vampires! Original vampires to boot! When she told her empty headed cousin she needed to be in the middle of it, she meant so she could keep their leeching asses in check.

But no, _prodigy baby Bennett,_ had to twist her intended words of wisdom and fall for an Original vampire, of all fucking vampires! And now because original serial killer #1 had played her so far out of position, she Lucille Bennett, was forced to trudge through a muddy mess in Prada boots at the hoeing hour in an attempt to rectify her baby cousin’s atomic bomb of a fuck up.

The hint of sacrificial magic that had called to her soon as she crossed the town’s line thickened as she approached a crumbling crypt several feet away. Her stomach rolled as the sting of vomit teased the back of her throat. The stench of unclean magic singed the inner lining of her nostrils and provoked her eyes to water. Damn! She hated struggle magic! If a witch didn’t have the juice then she shouldn’t cast the fucking spell. Why the hell would her line even be involved with Esther Mikaelson and her gutter sorcery? They should’ve shredded her soul the moment she crossed the damn veil.

The sound of the door creaking open to the crypt yoked her from her thoughts. “Shit,” she cursed under her breath as Damon Salvatore stumbled forth. Of course! A witch couldn’t walk two feet in Mystic Falls without tripping over a damn Salvatore.

“Lucy Bennett,” he mumbled more to himself than her. “What the…,” the narrowing of his eyes told major tales about the inner calculating of his mind. He glanced over his shoulder at the tomb door before his lids flared and veins writhed just beneath surface of the skin under his eyes.

A tiny smile curved her lips. _Let’s dance, bitch!_ Before he could make a go for her carotid, she raised a hand and clenched it in a fist. A fraction of a second later, Damon dropped to his knees. Blood gushed from every orifice in his face. After she had her fill of watching him twitch and moan at her feet, she twisted her wrist. The snapping sound of his neck and spine fracturing gave her the tingles.

Stepping over his broken body, she crossed the threshold into the still open door of the crypt. Inside, a passingly attractive semi-conscious middle-aged man propped himself on a stone altar as an almost empty bottle of bourbon rested haphazardly across his lap. Holy hell! She stalked across the crypt, her heeled ankle boots clacking as she went. Once she towered over him she stooped, and snatched the bottle from his lap. She then slammed the glass against the cement base of the altar. It shattered into an assortment of fragments and shards.

The noise roused the half dead drunken man. “H-hey now…,” he stammered as his bloodshot eyes fluttered open and snapped to her. His head jerked back. “Who the fuck-,” his confused gaze bulged when she used the broken neck of the bottle to drag across her wrist. “No…stop…don’t-,”

“Shut the hell up.” She yanked his head back and forced her spurting wrist into his mouth. The moment her blood touched his tongue his reluctance fled and his face relinquished its human façade. Once satisfied he’d transitioned, she hit him with a hellified aneurysm. _“Satis!”_

He released her wrist and growled, while clutching his head. “Agh!”

“Get up. You can lick your wounds on your own damn time, Hunter.” Lucy picked up another shard and slashed his arm. She ignored the infant vamps hisses as she brought the bloody glass to her lips, and then licked the dark red fluid from its smooth surface. The wound on her wrist immediately closed. “We have work to do.”

“What happened to the original witch?” He gasped as the effects of her magical lobotomy still lingered.

“Forget Esther’s tired unoriginal ass,” she stood, to retain her position of power, tossing the shard of glass away as she went. “Now you’re fucking with an upgrade.”

                                                              

* * *

 

Niklaus swallowed another tumbler full of blended whiskey as he unseeingly stared out the window of his study. Although the view provided a breathtaking view of his estate’s landscape, his brain refused to commit to the faultless scene his sight so dispassionately beheld. No his mind chose to fixate on all things Bonnie Bennett. In fact, the little witch beckoned to each one of his senses beyond the point of unreserved distraction.

His eyes ached to see her irritatingly imperfect face just once more, his fingertips itched to press themselves against her surprisingly supple flesh, and his tongue longed to drown itself in the magical elixir which surged through her veins. The little temptress had infiltrated his mind and laid claim to his senses.

If he dared surrender himself to the absolute verity of it all, then he’d admit there’s nothing he wouldn’t give to possess her. And yet she had the gall to spurn him when he so chivalrously placed the world at her golden T-Straps. His ego and cock ached in the face of her refusal. The tumbler shattered in his punishing grasp. _Bloody hell!_ Why did such irreverent notions of that insufferable she-devil plague him so?

The doors to his study burst open. Unbridled irritation did the Charleston across his already thoroughly assaulted pressure points.

“We have an Original 2.0 sized problem.” The sound of Damon Salvatore’s voice curdled the purloined blood which nourished his undead vessels. “Not to mention, we have another powerful pissed off Bennett Witch strutting around Mystic Falls.” He raised a hand. “And before you ask, the answer’s no. She’s nowhere _near close_ to being Bon-a-licious.”

His eyes closed as his thumb and finger discovered the bridge of his nose. For the undead life of him, he couldn’t fathom why he continued to endure the mindless wonder that were the Salvatores?

“Damon, I’d hoped to discover Elena cowering upon my door step this morn. With her essential belongings in hand, of course.” Klaus clasped his hands behind his back as he turned to consider the elder Salvatore brother with a forced smirk perched upon his lips. “That was the agreement between her and I, was it not?” He moved over to his desk, while continuing to regard Damon with the unwavering faltering glare of a proper predator. “Perhaps you require a recap of the terms of our arrangement. Why not? I’ve got time.” An indolent shrug raised and lowered his shoulders. “The provisos were as such: I allow the history teacher to drift away in Elena’s all-inclusively loving arms in exchange for her delivering herself quite willingly into my care.”

“That deal’s a fucking no go, Klaus. Ric transitioned thanks to Lucy Bennett!” The feeble minded imbecile hissed, while he stalked further into the study. “What part of, _we have a fucking problem_ , don’t you get?”

“Oh I don’t know. Maybe it’s the part about how the transitioned drunkard is now my problem. Explain that bit to me if you must.” Klaus seated himself in the high-back cherry wood throne chair positioned behind his desk. He then paused to regard Salvatore with a look of feigned expectancy, before continuing. “After all wasn’t it you lot who implored me to permit the splendid reprobate to die in blessed peace, and quite magnanimously did I not agree to your conditions.” The younger vampire glowered at him instead of verbalizing a contradiction. He chortled to himself before slapping his hands down on the edge of the desk to emphasize the closing of the topic. “Well now, if you’d be as pertinent as to turnover my doppelgänger. I’m told the jet will be ready within the hour.”

Stefan entered the study through the still open door. “Klaus, Alaric wants to end the entire vampire race. So exactly who the hell do you think he’s hunting, us or you?” He then spun to regard his brother. “Oh and FYI, Elena’s missing.”

The hybrid’s eyes rolled. It would seem he was infested with incompetent Salvatores.

“Missing? What the fuck do you mean she’s missing, Stefan?” Damon blustered, before turning about to face his younger sibling.

“I went downstairs to make her breakfast and when I returned she was gone. I haven’t been able to find her anywhere,” he said with a shrug inspired by sheer aggravation. “Even Caroline and Bonnie’s MIA.”

“Damn it, Stefan!” Damon slapped a palm to his forehead, before tilting his head backwards to glare at the ceiling. “You had one fucking job! Watch the got damned doppelganger and don’t let her well-meaning suicidal ass out of your sight! What’s sooo difficult about that? It’s in your fucking skillset, you have experience. Weren’t you stalking her for weeks before you grew a pair large enough to approach her?”

Stefan dismissed his brother by swinging his glance back to Klaus. “Alaric may have her. And from what Elena told us, your mother made the last white oak stake indestructible by using the magical properties in the Gilbert ring. Which means-,”

“He now has the means to kill us all.” Rebekah bled into existence before their eyes. Dirt smudged her cheek and forehead as leaves and twigs clung to her dust laden tresses. “I’ve seen him, Nik. Alaric’s not like us. He’s stronger, faster, and bloody determined. Mother created him for the sole purpose of bringing about our end.” She looked to Stefan. “He has Caroline. They’re at the school.”

“What about Elena?” Damon demanded.

She inclined her head just so. “I’m not sure. I only witnessed him abduct the vapid one.” Her turbulent stare returned to him. “He has a white oak stake, Nik.”

Rage rocketed across his processes and nearly blasted him through the overhead. He should’ve known his mother machinations would not be curtailed by something as fleeting as a rendezvous with death. Even from the grave she’d plotted a diabolically brilliant plan of attack with the potential of besting him. Calculating thoughts twisted his mind in on itself in an attempt to conceive a scheme which would outmaneuver Esther’s. Yet despite his efforts, the only notion that frolicked through his head was escape. It was imperative that his siblings and he fled to ensure their continued survival. Even as the idea grazed the walls of his brain he knew the outcome of his deliberations were flawed. If they absconded they would do so to what end?

He felt the witch’s magic the moment she entered house. His eyes slipped closed. Anticipation rode him hard and fast as he listened to each foot step that brought her closer to his study.

“We have no other option than to flee, Nik,” Rebekah insisted.

“Now is not the time to tuck tail and chuck deuces,” the sound of Bonnie’s voice, silenced and ordered his thoughts. “Ric has Caroline and Elena. He’s gonna kill them if I don’t turn myself over to him.”

Precision arrested fear which in turn relinquished control over his thought process and actions. His gaze greedily sought her out. Once she was confined in his sights, his back teeth clenched to discover her hand in hand with Kol.

“Swine will to the skies before I allow that to happen,” he stated to the contrary.

“What?” Damon screeched. “Don’t be a fucking idiot, Klaus. Your precious Caroline is dead if Ric doesn’t get what he wants. So is Elena.”

Stefan zipped forward with bulging eyes to grab the edge of his desk. “Please tell me you get that, Klaus. They’ll both die if-,”

“Then so fucking be it!” he roared, momentarily losing his grasp on his human façade. He could feel the writhing of his veins beneath his eyes and the familiar throbbing just beneath the surface of his gums. Bloody red stained his field of vision.

The hollow headed twosome took several steps back, while their stares snapped from him to Kol, before finally settling on Bonnie. “You have to help them, Bonnie. He’ll kill them if you don’t,” Stefan pleaded.

“Then sodding good riddance,” Rebekah uttered as she stalked over to the wet bar. “That’ll be two butcheries I can cross off my to-do list.”

“I’m not gonna let it come to that,” Bonnie insisted in a quiet voice which held enough will to have been forged in hell fire and steel. “I plan to turn myself over to Ric.”

His very accusing glare swung to his baby brother who’d been aberrantly silent throughout the entire misbegotten exchange. “And what is your say in all of this, Kol. She is your so called mate after all! Have you no opinion on the matter?”

“You’re accurate, Nik. Bonnie is indeed _my_ mate,” Kol lifted the witch’s hand to his mouth, and then pressed a kiss to her knuckles. His beady dung colored stare rediscovered him as his lips boasted a smirk which rivaled his own. “And my clever little mate has a plan.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Okay there you have it, so now you can let me have it. Seriously, I want to know everything. Should I break my keyboard and stick to what I know (Mainly Wattpad) or should I crack my knuckles and stretch before I peck out the next update. I'll let you all decide. Favor this, Follow this, but above all else review this!


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